PIUTE COUNTY, Utah — A Piute County teenager was sentenced Monday to 25 years to life in prison for murdering a 16-year-old girl in January.
Francisco Aguilar, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder in June for the death of 16-year-old Jacqueline "Jacky" Nunez.
Aguilar was charged and convicted in the adult court system despite his age due to the brutal nature of the crime. The death penalty was taken off the table because of his age and he turned 18 days before being sentenced.
He appeared in court Monday and looked down as family members recalled how Jacky's death has impacted them and during the rest of the sentencing hearing.
Nunez was shot and left abandoned on a dirt road in January. The crime sent a ripple effect through the tight-knit community as they mourned the loss of a girl who they say was well-loved and an excellent athlete.
Gruesome details were recalled during the sentencing hearing. The state detailed how when Nunez didn't come home that night, her family reached out to a friend who went looking for her.
When the friend eventually found Aguilar and Nunez, she reported Nunez ran toward her screaming for help as Aguilar shot her in the leg.
The friend drove away after Aguilar shot her car window, attempting to kill her. She said during a victim impact statement that leaving Jacky has left her with severe trauma and guilt.
"I was left with a life sentence he forced on me," the friend said. "The horrifying events of that night will forever live in my head."
After shooting Nunez in the leg, Aguilar then shot Nunez in the head, killing her.
An exact motive for why Aguilar shot Nunez was never revealed, although the judge asked Aguilar during the sentencing, "Why did you kill your girlfriend?"
Aguilar didn't give a reason but responded to the judge by saying in part, "There's no justification for what I did. I acted irrationally and out of anger."
Irma Nunez, Jacky's mother, delivered an emotional victim impact statement, saying she feels a "hole in her heart."
"We are currently dead while we walk alive, especially me," she said. "There's not one day that goes by where I stop thinking about my princess."
Rosa Nunez, Jacky's older sister, also spoke during a victim impact statement, saying the entire family is still dealing with deep grief.
"I didn't choose to go through grief for the rest of my life...I didn't choose the suffering I was given," Rosa said tearfully. "This person chose that suffering for me, for my daughter and for my family."
Another sister also delivered a statement, calling her grief a "lifelong battle" and saying every moment is filled with the absence of Jacky.
"It would be easier to die than to live a life in which she no longer exists," she said. "From the minute I wake up, I wake up accompanied by sadness and embraced by pain."
Aguilar will serve 25 years to life in the Utah State Prison.
