HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLA. — A murder suspect was sentenced to 30 years in prison after prosecutors said he tried to mask his girlfriend’s murder as a suicide.
Erick Gonzalez Garay pleaded guilty on Friday to second-degree murder for killing his girlfriend after an argument in 2023, the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office said.
He originally claimed she had committed suicide, but his story quickly fell apart after his mother told law enforcement that he confessed to her shortly after the incident, prosecutors said.
He was sentenced to 30 years in prison followed by 10 years of probation.
On Oct. 12, 2023, at 1 a.m., the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center received a call from a male that an individual had been shot.
Deputies arrived near the 5800 block of U.S. Highway 92, where they found Garay and his girlfriend who was pronounced deceased at the scene.
After a thorough investigation, detectives arrested and charged Garay with murder in the second-degree firearm-great bodily/harm death; tampering with physical evidence; tampering with a witness; and aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony with a weapon.
If you or someone you know is in a situation of domestic violence, call The Spring of Tampa Bay's 24/7 crisis hotline at (813) 247-SAFE (7233).
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