BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — A man accused of killing his girlfriend’s cousin in 2024 was convicted of second-degree murder on Thursday, announced the Kern County District Attorney’s Office.
Jaime Regalado Avalos pleaded no contest on June 11, 2026, in the death of 33-year-old Claudia Morales Vasquez, of Bakersfield.
The incident dates back to the evening of April 25, 2024, when Claudia Vasquez got involved in an argument with her cousin, Noralina Vasquez Hernandez, and her boyfriend, Jaime Avalos.
As the argument escalated, Claudia called her parents and asked them to drive from northern California to east Bakersfield to pick her up. The following morning, on April 26, 2024, before Claudia’s parents arrived, Regalado grabbed Claudia by her shirt, pulled her into him, and told his Noralina to go into their bedroom, said the DA.
Jaime Regalado Avalos. Photo: Kern County District Attorney’s Office.
Regalado then threw Claudia to the ground and pressed down on her face and neck with his foot, said prosecutors. He then carried her limp body to his vehicle.
Regalado drove Claudia’s body from east Bakersfield to an orchard off Stockdale Highway in west Bakersfield, where her body was found at around 8:15 a.m. When Claudia’s parents arrived at her east Bakersfield apartment, they found her apartment smelling of bleach and cleaning products. They reported Claudia as missing.
Kern County Sheriff’s deputies connected the two crime scenes within a matter of minutes and identified Regalado as the main suspect.
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Regalado and Noralina were found driving southbound on Interstate 5. CHP officers pulled over the vehicle, and identified a blood stain on Regalado’s shoe, a jacket with the victim’s blood and a blood stain in the vehicle.
Claudia’s body was found in an autopsy to have suffered multiple blows to the head, extreme rotation of the head on the neck, compression of the neck and chest, and a pressurization covering of the mouth and nose consistent with the pressure applied by the defendant’s foot.
“Despite Regalado’s attempts to conceal the crime by disposing of the victim’s body and evading law enforcement, I am grateful for the thorough investigation and successful prosecution that brought him to justice,” stated Kern County DA Cynthia Zimmer.
Regalado is set to be sentenced on July 13, 2026, where he faces a sentence of 15 years to life in prison.
Noralina Hernandez admitted to investigators that she cleaned the crime scene following the homicide.
On October 14, 2024, she pleaded no contest to one count of accessory after the fact. Noralina is set to be sentenced on June 16, 2026.