Sandra Venta, who pleaded not guilty to murder charges, faces 25 years to life for allegedly stabbing her husband to death in City Heights, per San Diego police.
SAN DIEGO — Sandra Venta has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder after allegedly stabbing her husband, Daniel Cornejo, to death in their City Heights home last Friday. In a downtown court appearance, Venta, who is being held without bail, faces a potential sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
San Diego police responded to the couple’s residence on 39th Street around 11:30 a.m. last Friday. They found Cornejo, 33, suffering from severe bleeding. Despite efforts from officers to save him, he was pronounced dead at the scene. Police reported that Venta was also present and had minor injuries, which may relate to her defense strategy.
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“Obviously, in this situation where a woman kills her husband, there’s a lot of drama that is going to be played into that,” said Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Dort. He noted that the defense might argue self-defense given Venta’s injuries.
Cornejo and Venta lived together as common-law spouses and have a six-year-old child, who was at school during the incident and was not in the home.
“It is at least beneficial for the child not to have to deal with his mother stabbing his father,” Dort said.
A bail review hearing is scheduled for September 1, with the preliminary hearing set to begin in October.