According to prosecutors, a 29-year-old man was sentenced to 75 years in jail by a Texas judge for the murder of a 16-year-old girl who reprimanded him via a string of Facebook messages just minutes prior.
Irbin Vargas, 29, was found guilty of murder on September 12, 2018, in Houston, for the death of 16-year-old Lourdes Sandoval, also known to friends as “Betty.” Vargas, who was 22 at the time, and Betty had been dating for around a year, according to prosecutors with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
However, after Vargas allegedly put a gun to Betty’s head, she decided to break up with him.
According to a criminal complaint, Vargas and the girl spoke on Facebook at around ten o’clock on the relevant night.
Vargas reportedly emailed the girl a photo of himself with a gun to his head a few minutes later, captioning it, “Life ain’t worth living without you.” Betty stated she was afraid and sent a friend the image and the messages. She went outside to see a buddy after that.
Prosecutors said that Vargas came out of the shadows, took the girl by the shoulder, and shot her in the face.
Although Vargas fled, he was eventually taken into custody by Houston police. He was found guilty by a court last month following a five-day bench trial. He must serve 30 years before he is eligible for parole.
In a statement, the case’s prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Philip White, described the predator as a 22-year-old who sought to approach a minor girl. “He killed her five minutes after she told him it was forever over.”
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“No one should ever be killed by domestic violence, and this case is especially tragic because this woman was so young and had so much to live for — we mourn her loss with her family,” said Kim Ogg, the district attorney for Harris County.
