FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2023

OKLAHOMA CITY – Yesterday in Oklahoma County District Court, Gabriel Aguilar, 29, entered a Blind Plea of Guilty for the murder of Selena Pacheco-Escalera. When a blind plea is entered by the defendant, the Judge determines the punishment. Because Aguilar was charged with First Degree Murder, the range of punishment was Life or Life Without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP). Aguilar was sentenced to LWOP.

Pacheco-Escalera, 24, and Aguilar were previously in an intimate relationship. On June 8, 2019, a friend of Pacheco-Escalera’s was alerted by the victim’s children that Pancheco-Escalera was dead. The friend went to check on her, found her body in a bedroom and called the police. When police arrived at the scene, they located Aguilar’s wallet with his ID near Pacheco-Escalera’s body. It was also reported to police that Aguilar entered Pacheco-Escalera’s apartment and stabbed her in front of her children. The Medical Examiner identified more than 70 stab wounds on Pacheco-Escalera’s body. Aguilar fled the scene. Police arrested him two days later and he was booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center.

After the sentencing, Aguilar waived his right to appeal. He will be transferred to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to serve out his sentence. Criminal charges are based on probable cause to believe a person has committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

###