Jessica Tinoco was compassionate, beautiful and full of life. She was a beloved daughter, cherished sister and, most of all, a loving mother.
The 34-year-old woman died Sept. 27, 2024, after her boyfriend, Raymond "Ramon" Rivas, stabbed her in the Simi Valley apartment they shared.
Rivas was sentenced Aug. 7 to 51 years to life in prison for her murder.
Those who loved Tinoco, including her five young children, will serve a life sentence of grief.
“You didn’t just end her life, you shattered a family,” Mary Crockett, Tinoco’s mother, told Rivas during the hearing. “What made you turn and do something so horrible in front of five beautiful children who loved you like a father?”
During a May 20 early disposition conference, 36-year-old Rivas pleaded
guilty to one count of murder and admitted to 10 special allegations, including that the victim was vulnerable and that the crime involved great violence, according to Ventura County Superior Court records.
Deputy District Attorney John Barrick said that the Ventura County District Attorney's Office offered the plea deal to prevent the children from having to testify in a trial and that the deal does not impact the sentence Rivas faced.
The remaining charges — four counts of child endangerment stemming from several of the children being present during the attack —have been dismissed.
“Imagine seeing someone take your mom and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Kimberly Gutierrez, Tinoco’s daughter, said in her victim impact statement.
Kimberly, who remembers hitting Rivas and begging him to stop, and her sister Mariah Gutierrez, who remembers taking her siblings out of the home and calling 911, told Rivas that the trust and care they had for him made the murder all the more painful.
“I hope you realize you had a good family who loved you and know that you will not be able to experience that again,” Mariah said.
Crockett called Rivas evil and said that she warned her daughter to leave him. He put Tinoco through so much heartache during their two years together, but she still loved him, Crockett said.
“Why?” the mother said. “I want to know why.”
In a statement he read aloud to the family, Rivas said he feels pain, shame and regret surrounding his actions and accepts the consequences that come with them. He said he and Tinoco had identical personalities, loving hard and fighting hard, and that he wishes he had the strength to walk away.
“I’m forever scarred by the split-second decision I made,” Rivas said, facing the two children present in court. “I’m so, so sorry.”
Rivas’s family members also read statements during the sentencing, asking the judge for leniency. His mother, Monica Loera, and his sister, Monique Dominguez, said he was a good person who made a terrible mistake that shouldn’t define him.
Judge Kristi Peariso sided with Barrick over public defender Cate Hall, determining that Rivas already had two prior strikes for a 2011 carjacking and robbery.
She sentenced Rivas to 51 years to life in prison, with 680 days credit for time served. She ordered him to pay restitution to the victim’s brother and children and recommended that he participate in substance abuse counseling or educational programs.
Due to California’s elderly parole program, Barrick said, Rivas will be eligible for parole at 60 years old, though Peariso said that if he is released, he will serve lifetime parole.
Makena Huey is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at makena.huey@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation's Fund to Support Local Journalism.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Boyfriend who killed Simi mom sent to prison. 'You shattered a family'
