Arizona man convicted of stabbing his preganant wife to death in 2012

Gilbert Villareal was convicted of killing his wife.

He was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

He was extradited from Mexico in 2019.

The marriage between Sheila Lomes and Gilbert Villareal had the most violent of endings — he stabbed her 38 times killing her and their unborn child.

The double murder occurred on March 26, 2012, at a residence in Phoenix, Arizona.

After committing this horrendous crime, Villareal fled to Mexico.

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The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced, through a statement that, after 11 years, justice has been served.

Sheila Lomes, her unborn baby and her first child, who is now a teenager, can rest a little easier.

“Remember, a two-year-old child witnessed this awful crime,” County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said.

«I hope that one day, when he is old enough to understand, he will recognize there were dozens of people on his side, fighting for justice.,» she added.

Gilbert Villareal was sentenced to 50 years

PHOTO: Phoenix Police Department

Gilbert Villareal was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, prosecutors said.

Getting justice was not easy and the fight began the same day of the crime when investigators discovered that Villareal had fled to Mexico.

The Phoenix Police Department issued an arrest warrant against him with an international alert for Mexican authorities.

They were unable to locate him in Mexico until December 2016.

Gilbert Villareal is extradited to the U.S.

PHOTO: Phoenix Police Department

Villareal was arrested in Cancun for another violent domestic abuse incident in Mexico.

He was tried and spent time in jail there.

He only served three years of his sentence before Arizona authorities requested his extradition.

“Finding a way to bring this defendant back to the U.S. to face his crimes was a particularly challenging process,” the County Attorney said.

He pleaded guilty to stabbing Sheila Lomes to death

PHOTO: Shutterstock

In December 2019, Villareal was extradited back to the United States to face charges in Maricopa County.

«Our lawyers and support staff were relentless in their efforts to ensure he was located and returned here,» Mitchell added.

In early December, Villareal pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in Arizona, both class one dangerous felonies, the report said.

After being sentenced, Villarreal was also barred from having any contact with the victim’s family.

Could this tragedy have been avoided?

PHOTO: Shutterstock

He is also barred from contacting his son, whom he left crying next to his mother’s lifeless body when he was only a toddler.

Sheila Lomes’ family says this tragedy could have been avoided. She had obtained a restraining order long before the deadly attack.

«[T]his incident was the culmination of more than a year of domestic violence incidents where the defendant terrorized, manipulated and abused the victim…» the County Attorney’s statement clarifies.

«[T]he defendant terrorized, manipulated, and abused the victim, who was attempting to leave the relationship when she was murdered.»