SALINAS (BCN) — A 24-year-old man was found guilty of strangling his girlfriend to death inside a car in just outside Salinas in nearly two years ago, the Monterey County District Attorney’s office announced Friday.
Following a two-week trial, a jury found Byron Sumagang guilty of premeditated and deliberate murder, according to prosecutors.
On Nov. 30, 2014, a sheriff deputy came upon Sumagang’s car on the edge of Old Stage Road near Alisal Road, prosecutors said.
There, the deputy saw Sumagang sitting in the backseat with an unconscious woman lying in his lap. When the deputy spoke with Sumagang, he said the two had entered a suicide pact, according to prosecutors.
The victim, later identified as 22-year-old Carole Sangco was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Sumagang was also taken to a hospital, but was released with only superficial scratches on his wrist, prosecutors said.
During the trail, the jury relied on testimony from the Montery county Forensic Pathologist, who concluded Sangco died of asphyxia as a result of both smothering and strangulation, according to prosecutors.
Sumagang faces a possible 25 years to life sentence. He scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 29, prosecutors said.