BY AMELIA BISCARDI
Daily Post Staff Writer
An East Palo Alto man pleaded guilty today (Jan. 13) to second-degree murder after he stabbed a man in the neck during an argument involving a love triangle, according to a prosecutor.
Wilmer Lopez Amador, 22, and his cousin, Ceferino Vasquez Lopez, 32, took plea deals today, said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. Amador faces a sentence of 16 years to life in prison, meaning he must serve 16 years before being eligible for parole.
Lopez pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and is facing a sentence of 6 years in prison, Wagstaffe said.
Wagstaffe said a plea deal in a murder case is a rare occurrence.
“Maybe he’s a criminal with a conscience,” Wagstaffe said. “That must happen to one out of every 10,000 defendants.”
The murder happened after Amador and Lopez got into a fight with Abner Oswaldo Najeraxol, 33, on July 4, 2022, over Najeraxol dating a 17-year-old woman and a love triangle between Najeraxol and Lopez, Wagstaffe said.
Amador then stabbed Najeraxol in the neck on an apartment staircase at 400 O’Keefe Street and fled, Wagstaffe said.
When police arrived, they followed a trail of blood and, with a warrant, found Amador on a porch apartment with the knife nearby. With surveillance cameras, police were later able to see Lopez holding Najeraxol’s arm down and holding a knife to him, assisting Amador, Wagstaffe said.
Amador will be sentenced on March 16, and Lopez will be sentenced on March 10, according to Wagstaffe.
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