Salinas man who fled to Mexico after 2002 fatal stabbing sentenced to prison
A Salinas man who fled to Mexico after killing someone in 2002 was finally sentenced to prison, Monterey County prosecutors said.
Juan Gabriel Nunez, 48, was sentenced to 18 years and four months to life in state prison for a conviction of murder, the Monterey County District Attorney's Office said in a statement Thursday.
On Aug. 8, 2002, Loretta Paluszynski was found dead in her home. Police found her with multiple stab wounds, including a deep laceration across her throat, and a bloody knife near her body. According to investigators, Paluszynski never picked up her son from childcare that before that and she was reported missing. Neighbors heard fighting and arguing in the early morning hours between Paluszynski and Vasquez.
According to Vasquez's family, he had showed up at their home in Salinas covered in blood and told them, "I did it, I did it." He then fled to Mexico, prosecutors said.
Vasquez was extradited from Mexico in 2021.
