Dying from stab wounds, Pleasant Hill custodian told his murderer, 'You're going to pay'

"PLEASANT HILL - As 37-year-old Santiago Jacobo Sr. struggled to stay upright as he bled out on the curb next to his vehicle, he had one last thing to the man who'd stabbed him 22 times. "You're going to pay," Jacobo called out to 31-year-old Pablo Gutierrez-Morales, who ran for a waiting vehicle, apparently holding onto the folly belief that his victim would live, according to court records."

"A year-and-a-half after the February 2024 murder of Santiago, his final words to his killer came true. Gutierrez-Morales, a Concord resident, pleaded no contest to second degree murder and received a prison sentence of 16 years to life, court records show. "I hope the people who did this get 942 years, because that's how long I'll be sad for," Jacobo's son, Santiago Jacobo Jr., said at his August sentencing hearing, the news site DanvilleSanRamon.com reported."

"The story behind Santiago Jacobo Sr.'s murder was oft-referred to by news media and police and a "love triangle," but court records describing the sage paint a more complex picture. It started with an affair between the married Jacobo, who lived in Pittsburg, and Vanessa Vera-Aguilar, his colleague at a senior care home called Watermark. It ended with Jacobo's wife finding him dead in the gutter next to Pleasant Hill Park, at around 4:45 a.m. on Feb. 10, 2024."

Santiago Jacobo Sr., 37, was found bleeding on a curb near Pleasant Hill Park on Feb. 10, 2024, with 22 stab wounds including injuries to his heart and liver. He had an affair with colleague Vanessa Vera-Aguilar while married and worked as a park custodian with a predictable routine that made him easy to find. After the relationship ended, Vera-Aguilar began dating Pablo Gutierrez-Morales, who became displeased and discussed revenge. Jacobo allegedly repeatedly contacted Vera-Aguilar with unreturned calls, texts, and video messages. Gutierrez-Morales pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and received a 16-years-to-life sentence. Jacobo's son expressed enduring grief at sentencing.

Read at The Mercury News