Corona resident Edwin Sarmiento on Friday, March 11, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for stabbing his girlfriend to death at their Van Cleef Street apartment in 2020, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Sarmiento, 31, admitted to killing 30-year-old Juliet Ximena Galindo Puentes before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder.
Katz said that around 4:10 a.m. on Feb. 8, 2020, Sarmiento and the victim argued inside the bedroom of the residence they shared. The heated exchange turned violent when Sarmiento grabbed a knife and stabbed his girlfriend numerous times. Sarmiento then went to the kitchen for an even bigger knife, broke down a door to access where the victim attempted to hide and continued to stab her repeatedly. Sarmiento then fled the apartment.
He was arrested a short time afterward at a nearby gas station in blood-soaked clothes, carrying a bag filled with money, phones, passports and other belongings, according to Katz.
EMS rushed Galindo Puentes to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
“The defendant has now admitted to the brutal slaying of a young woman,” Katz said. “The victim was stabbed with at least two different knives and sustained multiple puncture wounds. At his next appearance, the court will sentence the defendant to a lengthy term of incarceration for his actions.”
Justice Holder set the defendant’s sentencing for March 25, and he indicated he will sentence Sarmiento to 24 years in prison, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.
