An Oxnard man was sentenced to prison Thursday for a deadly house party stabbing in 2020.
Librado Ruiz Rojo, 22, faces anywhere from 16 years to life in prison for the murder of Carlos Murillo, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
He pled guilty to one felony count of second-degree murder with a special allegation that he killed Murillo with a knife.
On Jan. 26, 2020, Oxnard police officers responded to reports of a stabbing at a home on the 3000 block of Sycamore Street shortly after 12:30 a.m.
Investigators learned that as Murillo and a group of friends were leaving the party, the suspect, Rojo, challenged them to a fight.
A physical altercation broke out between the two men when Rojo stabbed Murillo multiple times, court documents said.
When officers arrived at the scene, Murillo was pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed he had been stabbed 10 times.
“The murder of Carlos Murillo was a tragedy no family should have to endure, yet endure it they did with grace, courage, and determination to ensure that the person who brought so much unnecessary agony upon them would be held responsible,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney John Barrick, a prosecutor in the case. “Although the pain of Carlos’ murder will never go away, I hope today’s sentencing will provide Carlos’ family and friends an opportunity to heal.”