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SALT LAKE CITY — A man pleaded guilty Monday to three counts of aggravated murder in the killings of two women were both strangled inside their Salt Lake County apartments in 2006 and 2008.
Juan Antonio Arreola-Murillo, 42, admitted to killing Sonia Mejia and her unborn child on Feb. 9, 2006 and Damiana Castillo on Feb. 9, 2008.
In his plea deal, Arreola-Murillo said he unlawfully entered the Mejia residence in Taylorsville in 2006 and intentionally caused her death by strangling Mejia. He said Mejia was six months pregnant and his actions resulted in the death of Mejia's unborn child.
Arreola-Murillo also admitted to unlawfully entering the Castillo residence — located just a few blocks away from the Mejia residence — in 2008 while committing a burglary and killing Castillo also by strangulation, according to the plea document.
As part of Areola-Murillo's plea deal, two charges of aggravated burglary and one count of aggravated robbery were dismissed.
The parties in the case are stipulating three sentences of 20 years to life in prison will be imposed consecutively, the plea document states. A sentencing hearing for Arreola-Murillo is scheduled for Aug. 10.
Areola-Murillo was deported to Mexico after the 2008 homicide before a positive identification on the killer was made, a statement from Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said. In 2016, the Automated Fingerprint Identification System found a match on the fingerprints obtained from both murders.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office filed criminal charges on April 5, 2017 against Arreola-Murillo, who was serving a prison sentence in Mexico at the time for a series of aggravated robberies, Gill's statement said. Following his prison sentence in Mexico, Arreola-Murillo was extradited to Utah in January 2022.
"Our office mourns the losses of Damiana Castillo, Sonia Mejia and her unborn child. While perfect justice would mean that these three individuals would still be with us today, we hope that these guilty pleas can bring a semblance of justice and closure for these families," Gill said.
