Orange County Man Who Killed Estranged Girlfriend the Day She Kicked Him Out of Apartment and Changed the Locks, Sentenced

Craig J. Charron, who broke into his estranged girlfriend's Huntington Beach apartment and fatally stabbed her on the day she changed the locks to keep him out, was sentenced on Friday to 26 years to life in prison.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Charron was found guilty of first-degree murder in April over the fatal stabbing of Laura Sardinha in 2020.

Sardinha Wanted to End the Relationship, Demanded That He Move Out of Her Apartment and Changed the Locks

Sardinha, 25, was stabbed multiple times on Sept. 2, 2020, in her apartment in Huntington Beach, Calif. She had been trying to escape her relationship with Charron, who had perforated her eardrum in an earlier attack.

At the time of her murder, she had taken out a restraining order against Charron, now 39, and demanded that he move out of her apartment. She then changed her locks on Sept. 2, 2020.

Sardinha Left Her Friend a Voicemail that Recorded the Murder

Later that day, when she returned home around 1:15 p.m., she was on a three-way call with her mother and her best friend. But her call was interrupted when she noticed Charron inside the unit, and she said, "Oh my God, he's here."

Her friend ended the call to dial 911, but Sardinha called her back. She then left a 37-second voicemail message in which she can be heard screaming, "He's gonna kill me!" and "Get away from me!"

Charron stabbed Sardinha with multiple knives. He stabbed her twice in the chest, nearly cut her nose off and stabbed her in the head so hard it bent the knife he was using, Orange County Deputy District Attorney Janine Madera said "If you listen to it carefully, you hear a woman narrating her own murder," Madera told jurors during her closing argument at Charron's trial.

Prosecutors Said Charron Inflicted Wounds on Himself to Claim Self Defense

Police reported to the scene, where they discovered Sardinha dead and Charron bleeding from chest and neck wounds. During the trial, the prosecution suggested Charron had inflicted the wounds to say that Sardinha had attacked him. "It doesn't matter if he self-inflicted wounds or if she defended herself," Madera said. "He was the aggressor 100% of the time."

"You don't hear the defendant on it, and his silence is absolutely deafening," she said. "He's enjoying taking his time killing her."