Gonzalo Curiel sentenced to life in prison for torture, murder of children
A 20-year-old Salinas man received two life sentences for starving and torturing three young children with his former lover, killing two of them, in 2015.
"The beatings, starvings, efforts to exert authority and control are really reflective of a ruthlessness that is rarely seen," said Monterey County Superior Court Judge Pamela Butler as she sentenced Gonzalo Curiel. "... You should never get out of state prison."
Though Curiel was sentenced to life without parole, recent legislation means he will have a parole hearing after serving 25 years behind bars because he was under 18 when the murders were committed, Somers said.
Butler acknowledged this in her sentencing of Curiel but stressed that his crimes warranted a lifetime behind bars.
"The only just sentence is you spend the rest of your life in prison," Butler said. "That is justice. Nothing less would be justice for... these children."
Gonzalo Curiel sentenced to life in prison for murder of two children found in Redding storage unit
In a letter read before the sentencing by Christi Gunter, who investigated the case for the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office, Jane Doe said the abuse and torture she endured was the worst thing she could have experienced. Yet she forgave Curiel and Huntsman for their actions.
“I would like to inform that it was very sad for me to hear that my siblings, Shaun and Delylah, have passed away,” she wrote. “Especially when I was in the hospital, which was not good news for me to hear.”
According to Somers, Jane Doe underwent her second jaw surgery last month. Her jaw was broken and healed improperly while she was in the care of Curiel and Huntsman.
Somers said he spoke with Jane Doe a couple of days ago and she’s doing well.