A California man was found guilty of torturing and murdering his girlfriend after abusing and filming her for several days and tattooing degrading words on her chest, according to a report.
After just one day of deliberation on October 15, a jury found Saul C. Nava guilty of multiple charges, including murder, torture, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of child pornography, corporal injury, and aggravated mayhem.
Nava was found guilty by the jury despite claims that he did not intend to kill former girlfriend Alisen Takacs-Escobar.
"I was angry because I felt betrayed," Nava testified. "And because I felt betrayed, I wanted her to feel the pain that I felt."
Nava began dating Takacs-Escobar in 2020 and the relationship soon turned abusive, Thousand Oaks Acorn reported. Nava had displayed similar patterns of abuse in previous relationships revealed by his former girlfriend, who publicly recounted years of physical and emotional abuse.
On December 24, 2021, the domestic violence escalated and became fatal when Nava called 911 seeking help for Takacs-Escobar. When police arrived at the scene, they found her dead with extensive injuries.
"I cared about her and her life," Nava said in his testimony, according to the outlet. "There were times when I hated her, but I still cared about her."
Evidence collected at the scene included videos taken on Nava's phone showing the prolonged abuse. Keri Reeves, a Ventura County death investigator, documented a puncture wound on Takacs-Escobar's calf, a laceration on her head, and six humiliating words tattooed across her chest.
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