A California man seeking revenge after a breakup waited until his ex-boyfriend’s family had gone to sleep before slipping into their home, fatally shooting four people and then setting the residence on fire, prosecutors said.
Miguel Diego Sandoval, 21, has admitted guilt in the November 2024 massacre at a Lancaster home that killed Janvi Maquindang, 21, Christine Aca-ac, 25, Edwin Garcia, 24, and Matthew Montebello, 21.
“The defendant was jilted when he broke up with his boyfriend and then did something unimaginable when he killed four innocent people,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, right, looks on as Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman addresses reporters during a news conference in Los Angeles. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, File)
“This was a calculated act of violence that left a void for the victims’ families that can never be filled,” Hochman added. “Rest assured this guilty plea will result in a lifetime prison sentence.”
Authorities said the violence stemmed from the end of Sandoval’s relationship with Aca-ac and Maquindang’s brother, with prosecutors alleging he targeted the home in an act of retaliation.
According to prosecutors, Sandoval waited outside the North Tabler Avenue residence on Nov. 16, 2024, until everyone inside had gone to bed. He then entered the home and opened fire, killing all four victims.
After the shootings, Sandoval set the house ablaze and ran from the scene, prosecutors said.
Lancaster, Calif., murder victims Janvi Maquindang, left, Edwin Garcia, Christine Aca-ac and Matthew Montebello, who were killed in a November 2024 shooting and house fire. (GoFundMe)
Amid the carnage, a 16-year-old victim trapped inside managed to call 911 from a locked bedroom. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responding to the burning home rescued the teen.
Three beloved family dogs were also killed, resulting in three felony animal cruelty counts against Sandoval.
Fundraising pages set up by the victims’ loved ones in the aftermath of the 2024 killings paint a picture of four young lives cut short and the families left reeling from the massacre.
Christine and Edwin were engaged and planning a future together, according to a GoFundMe organized by Christine’s sister. The fundraiser remembered Christine as a funny, vibrant and deeply caring older sister who served as the legal guardian and protector of her younger siblings.
Christine Aca-ac and her fiancé, Edwin Garcia, were among four people killed inside a Lancaster, Calif., home in November 2024. (GoFundMe)
The same GoFundMe described Janvi, Christine’s brother, as a bright and successful young man who had graduated as valedictorian of his high school class. His younger siblings looked up to him as a role model and someone they could count on, the fundraiser said.
The fundraiser said the younger siblings escaped the attack physically unharmed, but lost Christine and Janvi, as well as their home in the fire. The fundraiser was later expanded to help them find a safe place to live, continue their education and rebuild their lives.
Matthew had turned 21 only days before the shooting, his older brother Andrew Montebello wrote on a separate GoFundMe. According to the fundraiser, Matthew was shot in the head, rushed from the scene and placed in a coma as his family desperately waited for good news that never came.
Andrew described his younger brother as talented, smart and relentlessly curious, writing that Matthew would throw himself into learning a new skill until he mastered it or moved on to his next interest.
Sandoval is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 17 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center Superior Court of California in Los Angeles. (Derek Shook for News Outlet, File)
In another GoFundMe, Edwin’s mother, Yemi Olivares, remembered the 24-year-old, known to his family as Fernando or Fer, as a gentle soul who dreamed of becoming an educator in academics and music. She wrote that her son hoped to marry, become a father and teach future generations.
“As a mother, I am completely and utterly devastated,” Olivares wrote on the GoFundMe.
Sandoval pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, including special-circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder by means of lying in wait.
He also admitted to attempted murder, first-degree residential burglary and arson of an inhabited structure or property, along with two counts of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death.
The guilty plea ensures Sandoval will never walk free. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 17.
