Karen Garcia’s killer now behind bars
Salvador Garcia- Vaca Jr. was sentenced to 25 years in prison
Almost three years after 21- year- old Karen Garcia went missing, her killer was sentenced to 25 years behind bars.
Salvador Garcia- Vaca Jr., 24, was sentenced on Jan. 6 on charges of voluntary manslaughter and domestic violence. He will be 59 when he is released.
Garcia was reported missing on Jan. 9, 2018 — days after her younger sister, Jessica, and four of their friends were killed in a fatal crash on northbound Interstate 5 just outside of Woodland. At the time, police officers believed that no foul play was involved and that she had simply desired to be alone after the death of her sister.
The day before her disappearance, she had sent a text that stated that she was in Roseville and planned to travel to Vacaville. It was the last time anyone had contact with Garcia.
Williams police then formed a joint investigation with the Colusa Police Department, Colusa County District Attorney’s Office and the Colusa County Sheriff’s Office.
A search of Garcia’s home revealed “evidence of a homicide,” the Williams Police Chief, Joshua Fitch said at the time.
Johnny Quintero, Garcia’s neighbor later testified through Colusa County’s Chief District Attorney, Dave Salm, that he had last seen her on Jan. 8 when she stopped by the apartment from the Riverside Inn in Colusa in order to pick up her stuff as she was in the process of moving out. Quintero said he never saw her again.
The next day, Quintero entered the apartment with a key Garcia had given him and found a large, red stain in the bedroom. He immediately alerted police.
Garcia- Vaca Jr.’ s second cousin, Alexander Vaca, later testified that he picked up his cousin in a parking lot in Woodland on the evening of Jan. 8 across the street from where the victim’s car was later found. Garcia- Vaca Jr. did not tell Vaca why he was in Woodland and requested that Vaca delete the calls and text messages they had exchanged that evening, according to the Marysville Appeal- Democrat.
Five days after the search was initiated, Garcia’s vehicle was reported to be parked in the CVS and Marshall’ s parking lot at 45 W. Main St., Woodland. Police found a deceased body inside the car, which was later confirmed to be Garcia by the Yolo County Coroner’s Office.
The autopsy revealed that Garcia had died of blunt- force trauma to the head.
Fitch then announced that the suspect in her death was Garcia- Vaca Jr., who had appeared on CBS 13 in Sacramento and said he would help in the search. During the interview, he was asked about the daughter and began to cry.
“No, she would never leave her daughter,” he said. “She’s her number one priority, always.”
It was later reported by the Sacramento Bee that he had been charged with a misdemeanor domestic violence offense close to two weeks before Garcia disappeared.
The couple, who had been together for 9 years, had broken up around that time, and she had been “casually” seeing another man.
Garcia- Vaca Jr. had disappeared before her body was found.
On Jan. 18, a collection drive was formed for the family in the parking lot where Garcia’s body was found. According to one of the organizers, more than $ 1,300 in cash was donated along with 20 cases of water, soda and a variety of other products. A fundraiser was also held at Las Brasas in downtown Woodland.
The Williams Police Department reported a stolen black 2011 Toyota Sienna van on Jan. 19, and Colusa police believed Garcia- Vaca Jr. had used it to flee.
A month after her body was found, the Colusa Police Department, with the United States Marshall’s Office offered a $ 5,000 reward to anyone who could provide information that led to Garcia- Vaca Jr. The award was later bumped up to $ 10,000 in late March.
The award, however, was not enough, and there were no significant updates in Garcia’s case, aside from an Investigation Discovery episode titled “Crocodile Tears” that aired in February of 2019, for a large portion of the year.
The Colusa County Police Department announced on Aug. 4, 2019, via Facebook that Garcia- Vaca Jr. had been arrested by U. S. Marshals in Guadalajara, Mexico. He was booked into the Colusa County Jail for an outstanding murder charge, as well as the from the 2017 domestic violence charge.
He pleaded not guilty to both charges that September.
On Jan. 16, 2020, GarciaVaca Jr. appeared for his preliminary hearing. During the hearing, the prosecutor said that investigators found reddish, pink staining on the carpet in the bedroom as well as blood splatter on the walls and dresser.
There was also additional blood spatter found in the laundry room, and drag marks across the travel walkway composed of the same decomposed granite that was found lodged in the victim’s shoe, according to the Appeal- Democrat.
Members of both the Yolo County District Attorney and Colusa County District Attorney’s office explained how cellphone pings located Garcia’s phone in Woodland around 7 p. m. on Jan. 8, 2018.
The judge, Colusa Superior Court Judge Jeffery A. Thompson, said that there was probable cause to believe Garcia- Vaca Jr. was guilty of the crime.
On Nov. 17, 2020, GarciaVaca Jr. pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, and he was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Jan. 6, 2021.
“These 3 years have been long and hurtful,” a post on the Justice for Karen Facebook page — which is run by a former neighbor of Garcia’s, Linda Quintero, — read. “This sentence feels light compared to the heavy heart we carry when we think of Karen. We hope his time in prison will bring peace to her family and friends. Thank you all for the shares and support throughout this ordeal.”