- Manuel Burciaga-Perea faces trial May 5, 2026, in the killing of Gaby Ramos.
- He is charged with aggravated murder and burglary, among other felonies.
- Burciaga-Perea allegedly shot Ramos in October 2021; her daughter was present.
SALT LAKE CITY — A man charged with killing his ex-girlfriend, well-known Hispanic radio host Gabriela Sifuentes Castilla — known to the public as Gaby Ramos — is scheduled to face trial next year for the killing.
In a hearing on Monday, Manuel Omar Burciaga-Perea, 38, was scheduled for a four-day trial beginning on May 5, 2026.
Prosecutors say he shot and killed his former girlfriend, 38-year-old Sifuentes Castilla, in the doorway of her home in October 2021. Charges against Buciaga-Perea were filed in November 2021, but his initial hearing did not happen until June 2023 — after he was arrested in Mexico and eventually extradited.
He is charged with aggravated murder and aggravated burglary, first-degree felonies, in addition to domestic violence in front of a child and aggravated assault, third-degree felonies. Sifuentes Castilla's 8-year-old daughter was home at the time of the shooting.
Burciaga-Perea was ordered to stand trial in September 2024 following a preliminary hearing that included testimony from police officers and Sifuentes Castilla's sister, who witnessed the shooting.
According to testimony at that hearing, Burciaga-Perea confronted Sifuentes Castilla at her apartment in the early morning hours on Oct. 17, 2021. He eventually grabbed something from inside the apartment, saying it was a ring, and left the home.
Sifuentes Castilla then called 911 to report the encounter. About 15 minutes later, when there was a knock on the door, she asked in English who was there, thinking it would be the police. When there was no answer, she said she knew it was Burciaga-Perea and called 911 again.
In a recording of the second call, Sifuentes Castilla doesn't even say the whole address of their home before she goes silent, and chaos can be heard in the background. Officers testified that Sifuentes Castilla was shot multiple times in the chest and once in the head.
Sifuentes Castilla was a radio host for a local Spanish-language radio station called La Mas Picosita (KMRI 1550 AM) and a well-known member of the Hispanic community.
