Jury convicts Simi Valley man of murder in 2020 stabbing of girlfriend

Jurors found a Simi Valley man guilty of murder Tuesday in the 2020 stabbing death of his girlfriend.

Euren Balbuena, 32, had stabbed and slashed 31-year-old Zaira Patino-Trejo 95 times, prosecutors said during the trial.

The verdict was read shortly before 5 p.m. on the 27th day of the trial. Deliberations had started late Friday afternoon following two days of closing arguments last week.

The panel also found Balbuena guilty of two other felonies, but found him not guilty of the attempted murder of the victim's mother. Balbuena was convicted of battery against Patino-Trejo and of assault with a deadly weapon against her mother, Ariadna Avetisyan.

Patino-Trejo, 31, was found stabbed to death at the Woodside Apartments in the 5400 block of East Los Angeles Avenue on the morning of Feb. 27, 2020, after a domestic dispute with Balbuena.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Melissa Suttner maintained Balbuena was guilty of murder due to his use of a “butcher block of knives” to stab and lacerate Patino-Trejo 95 times.

Deputy Public Defender Tiffany Stone insisted her client committed voluntary manslaughter, rather than murder, because he acted in self-defense.

Suttner described Balbuena as someone filled with jealousy and anger. She told jurors his emotions led him to argue with Patino-Trejo, make derogatory comments, break her property and control her.

Stone didn’t deny some of her client’s alleged behavior — saying multiple times she didn’t like him either ― but asked the jury to remove emotion while deliberating.

“Jerks have an equal right to self-defense,” she said.

Timeline

On the morning of Feb. 26, 2020, the day before the killing, the couple got into an argument. Balbuena accused Patino-Trejo of cheating on him because she received a spam phone call, Suttner, a senior deputy district attorney, told the jury. He also complained about her taking the trash out in tight pants.

A cell phone video played in court showed the argument continuing the next day, about 2.5 hours before the victim was killed.

Another video from an outdoor camera that morning showed Patino-Trejo fleeing the residence in a towel before she was dragged back into the apartment by Balbuena, who was naked. Once the couple was out of view, screaming could be heard.

Avetisyan, the victim’s mother, later arrived around 9 a.m. and found her daughter wrapped in a bloody towel, Suttner said. The daughter had a swollen eye and a bloody face.

Avetisyan confronted Balbuena but left. When she returned, Balbuena was stabbing Patino-Trejo, according to the prosecution's account. Avetisyan tried to stop Balbuena, but he reportedly attacked her too. Avetisyan then fled to seek help.

Simi Valley Police Department officers later arrived and arrested Balbuena.

Stone, the public defender, argued the situation had calmed down by the time the victim's mother arrived. She pointed out that Patino-Trejo can be heard in a video asking her mother to leave.

She also noted an accidental call and voicemail recording where the couple can be heard having a normal conversation that morning.

Avetisyan "entered a regular day in a toxic relationship,” Stone told jurors.

It’s only after Avetisyan reacted to her daughter’s face and confronted Balbuena that he began fighting to defend himself, Stone argued. She said Patino-Trejo also had a knife and was swinging at him.

Stone showed a text message from Patino-Trejo saying she would “kill him if he ever laid hands on me.” Balbuena was thinking about that text while defending himself, she told jurors.

The prosecution had a different take. “Ninety-five stab wounds demonstrates anger,” Suttner said. "It's not self-defense."

Prior violence

Both Patino-Trejo and Balbuena had displayed violence in the past, attorneys said.

Patino-Trejo allegedly hit Balbuena with her car and lied about being raped, the defense said. Balbuena even called the cops on her in May 2019.

In January 2020, Patino-Trejo dialed 911 after fleeing the apartment. Balbuena wanted to see her phone, but she denied him. As a result, he trapped her in the home, the prosecution said. She was able to escape by jumping a fence once he fell asleep.

Balbuena has remained in county jail custody with bail set at $3 million. Sentencing has been scheduled for the morning of Jan. 17 in room 46 of Ventura County Superior Court.

Brian J. Varela covers Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Camarillo. He can be reached at brian.varela@vcstar.com or 805-477-8014. You can also find him on Twitter @BrianVarela805.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Jurors convict man of murder in 2020 stabbing of Simi Valley woman