Parole Denied for Man Who Killed Wife in 1979 and Fled to Mexico

At a virtual hearing on March 29, 2023, TCDA prosecutors secured a 5-year denial of parole for Jose Nava, age 75, for the 1979 murder of his wife. Nava is currently serving a life sentence at California State Prison, Solano.

On September 14, 1979, an intoxicated Nava and his friend drove to Lindsay so Nava could kill his wife, Irene Vasquez, who filed for divorce just a few weeks earlier. They drove around looking for the victim for two or three hours, eventually parking and waiting near her house. When the victim returned home from work with her 13-year-old daughter, Nava exited the vehicle and walked toward the home eventually entering through a back window.

The victim’s daughter was talking to a friend at the front door when she heard the victim scream. When she turned to investigate, witnessed Nava standing in the kitchen and pointing a gun at the victim. The victim’s daughter fled the home to call 911 and heard four rapid gunshots. After contacting police, she ran back to the home and found the victim covered in blood in the corner of the living room. Nava returned to his friend’s vehicle and admitted to having killed his wife, stating he “was not sorry and he would kill her again if she were ever born again.” Nava subsequently fled to Ensenada, Mexico, and avoided capture for nearly sixteen years until he surrendered himself in April 1996 at the port-of-entry in San Diego.

In the summer of 1997, Nava was convicted of second-degree murder with the use of a firearm and sentenced to 17 years-to-life in prison.

This was Nava’s fourth denial of parole. The Office of the District Attorney regularly attends life parole hearings and a prosecutor argued against the inmate’s release in this case.

Media inquiries can be directed to the Office of the District Attorney, County of Tulare Assistant District Attorney Dave Alavezos (559) 636-5494