Man admits to killing estranged girlfriend, a local Spanish radio host, almost five years ago

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Manuel Omar Burciaga Perea admitted to killing Spanish radio host known as Gaby Ramos, his estranged girlfriend.
His guilty plea avoids a jury trial that was scheduled in October, and prosecutors said it will keep the victims' daughter from needing to testify.
The victim's sister, Rocio Sifuentes, who witnessed the killing, has voiced disappointment in the plea deal.

SALT LAKE CITY — The estranged boyfriend of popular Spanish radio host known as Gaby Ramos admitted on Thursday to shooting and killing her in her home almost five years ago.

Manuel Omar Burciaga Perea, 39, pleaded guilty at a hearing attended by many of the woman's family members to murder, a first-degree felony, domestic violence in the presence of a child, a third-degree felony, and reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor.

He admitted that on Oct. 17, 2021, he shot Gabriela Sifuentes Castilla, 38, killing her. He also admitted to firing a gun into the room where Sifuentes' sister was, and her daughter in another room could hear.

Deputy Salt Lake County attorney Karissa McKinney said that Sifuentes Castilla's sister, Rocio Sifuentes, indicated she approved the plea deal prosecutors offered during a meeting last week, but has since changed her mind and said she does not support it. McKinney said prosecutors stand by the plea deal they offered and believe it preserves justice while minimizing the risks of going to trial.

The plea deal reduced his primary charge from aggravated murder and dismissed a charge for aggravated burglary, first-degree felonies, and dismissed a charge for aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, replacing it with reckless endangerment.

The attorney said the plea was able to eliminate uncertainty and secure convictions accounting for Ramos' killing and the danger his actions put others in. She said it "provided meaningful accountability and finality without materially diminishing the seriousness of the defendant's conduct."

McKinney said a trial would have required Ramos' young daughter to take the stand and testify and "relive the most traumatic event of her life," along with other family members.

According to Rocio Sifuentes' testimony at a preliminary hearing in the case, Burciaga had confronted Gaby Sifuentes at her apartment, grabbed something and left, and Gaby Sifuentes called 911 to report the encounter.

When the man returned about 15 minutes later, she called 911 again. A recording of the call goes silent while Gaby Sifuentes is in the middle of giving her address, and then chaos can be heard in the background. Rocio Sifuentes testified about the shots being fired. She testified that she went to help catch her sister when she fell down, but Burciaga pointed the gun at her so she left to tell others in the home to hide, coming out minutes later to find her sister covered in blood.

Gaby Sifuentes was a local radio host for La Man Picosita (KMRI 1550 AM) and was well known in Utah's hispanic community.

Charges against Burciaga 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 was scheduled for a jury trial in October before deciding to enter a plea.

Prosecutors said multiple family members want to speak at the sentencing hearing in the case, which was scheduled for December 10.

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