Insets, top: Jose Carmen Cardona (Stockton Police). Bottom, from left: Lizbeth Gutierrez-Salazar, Juan Gutierrez-Salazar and Julian Cardona-Gutierrez (San Joaquin County District Attorney”s Office). Background: Trailer in Stockton, California, Cardona set on fire, killing three people (KXTV).
In a tragic turn of events in California, a man, distraught over a breakup, committed a heinous act of arson that claimed the lives of his former girlfriend and her two young sons. The incident occurred after Jose Carmen Cardona, angered by the end of his relationship, set the home of his ex-girlfriend’s father on fire, resulting in the deaths of Lizbeth Gutierrez-Salazar, 32, and her sons, 10-year-old Juan and 7-year-old Julian.
On Monday, Cardona entered a guilty plea to three counts of first-degree murder, as well as charges of attempted murder, child abuse, arson, and vandalism. Following his plea, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Cardona received a life sentence without the possibility of parole for his crimes. The conviction brings some closure to the devastating incident that affected the community deeply.
The tragic sequence of events began when Gutierrez-Salazar ended her two-year relationship with Cardona on June 24, 2024. Following threats from Cardona, she sought refuge with her father, bringing her three sons to his trailer in Stockton, California, for safety.
In the early hours of the following morning, at 6:17 a.m., the Stockton Fire Department was dispatched to a fire at the trailer. Upon extinguishing the flames, firefighters discovered the lifeless bodies of Gutierrez-Salazar and her sons, Juan and Julian, inside. Her surviving 14-year-old son recounted the terrifying moment to investigators, recalling being awakened by noise and seeing Cardona inside the home.
“As he pursued him, he heard his mother’s cries and witnessed the entire home consumed by flames,” prosecutors detailed. The fire’s devastation extended beyond the immediate tragedy, as it damaged a neighboring residence, causing further destruction.
Days after the incident, authorities identified the fire as arson and Cardona as the prime suspect. Law enforcement obtained a warrant for his arrest, ultimately apprehending him on July 11, 2024, bringing a violent chapter to a close.
“Today, we have secured a measure of justice for Lizbeth Gutierrez-Salazar and her two innocent young sons, Juan and Julian, whose lives were brutally taken in an act of unimaginable cruelty while they slept in their own home,” San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas said in a statement. “While no sentence can ever bring back this devoted mother and her children or erase the pain inflicted on their surviving family, the defendant’s decision to accept responsibility provides an immediate and final resolution in this case and ensures he will face severe, permanent consequences for these heinous crimes. At the request of the victims’ family, we respected their wishes in reaching this conclusion. Our hearts remain with them as they continue to grieve, and we will always stand ready to hold accountable those who commit such violence against the most vulnerable among us.”
