Prison Sentences Handed Down in 2019 Tulare Murder
Today at the South County Justice Center in Porterville, the Court sentenced Fabian Nilo, age 27, to 36 years-to-life in prison for murder. Nilo’s sentencing was the final sentence handed down against five defendants involved in the case.
Around 1:45 am on May 21, 2019, Tulare Police Department officers were dispatched to Howard and Alpine by an adult male who advised he had been stabbed. When officers arrived, they found the victim in pain and struggling to breathe. He reported that he had been jumped by a group and stabbed in the ribs. The victim was transported to Kaweah Delta where he succumbed to his injuries. The victim had been stabbed three times in the upper torso.
Detectives discovered partial surveillance video from Mulcahy Middle School that recorded a confrontation between the victim and two defendants, Nilo and Cesar Lemus, age 25. Through investigation, detectives determined an additional two defendants were involved in the incident and aftermath, Kayla Easter, age 31, Aaliyah Raygoza, age 24, and Kayla Bernal, 28.
On April 23, 2021, a jury convicted Nilo of second-degree murder with the special allegations that he used a deadly weapon and possessed a prior strike and felony conviction (robbery, 2012).
In July 2021, a jury convicted Easter of voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison on September 1, 2021. Lemus pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 11 years in January 2020. Raygoza pleaded no contest in late 2019 to assault with the special allegation of causing great bodily injury, and two counts of misdemeanor obstruction. She was sentenced to a 5 year suspended sentence and probation. In 2019, Bernal pleaded no contest to accessory after the fact and was sentenced to a 3 year suspended term and one year in jail.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Kirk Davis and was investigated by the Tulare Police Department.
Media inquiries can be directed to the Office of the District Attorney, County of Tulare
Assistant District Attorney Dave Alavezos (559) 636-5494