A 25-year-old man has been found guilty of brutally stabbing his 18-year-old girlfriend in Temple City two years ago, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced today.
A jury found Matthew Fay Echauri of Arcadia guilty last week of four felony counts: one count of attempted murder, one count of mayhem, two counts of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime with force and violence.
The jury also found true allegations that the defendant personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a knife, during the commission of the crime and that Echauri personally inflicted great bodily injury upon the victim under circumstances involving domestic violence.
The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on March 12 in Department 1 of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Alhambra Branch. Echauri faces 17 years to life in state prison.
Deputy District Attorney Melanie Buccat said that on the afternoon of March 2, 2017, the defendant got into an argument with his girlfriend in front of her Temple City home.
According to the court testimony, as the victim began walking away from the defendant, Echauri pulled out a knife and began stabbing his girlfriend in the back while on a neighbor’s lawn.
According to the prosecutor, during the attack, the defendant stabbed the victim in the head, face and body. After the brutal assault, Echauri fled the scene.
Later that evening, a concerned citizen called police to notify them that the defendant was involved in the stabbing earlier in the day, the prosecutor said.
Two days later and while in local custody, Echauri called the victim and threatened her if she cooperated with law enforcement, according to witness testimony.
