Lancaster man sentenced in slaying of girlfriend with sword
A Lancaster man was sentenced in March to 36 years to life in prison for killing his girlfriend with a sword in front of her children, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.
A jury on March 10 found Jesus Humberto Canales, a 35-year-old Latino, guilty of killing Lucy Preciado, 26. Canales was sentenced March 24.
Preciado was found dead in her Lancaster home on Saturday, July, 12, 2008. Prosecutors said that Canales stabbed Preciado in front of her four children, who at the time, ranged in age from 7 months to 9 years old.
Sheriff's authorities released a 911 tape of her daughter calling for help shortly after the crime, which was featured on "America's Most Wanted."
"Hello? My dad just stabbed my mom," a tearful daughter told the operator. Other young children can be heard in the background, crying out, "Mommy!"
"Please. Just hurry up. I don't want my mom to die," she cries. "Please, somebody come up and help us."
Canales, who was also known as "Chuey," fled the scene after the crime. Detectives had been tracking him in New Mexico, Texas, Mexico and El Salvador. Investigators developed a lead that Canales was living in a small town in the central Mexican state of Jalisco, which led to his arrest in November 2013.
One of Preciado's daughters, now 15, gave a statement before Canales was sentenced.
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