Man Pleads Not Guilty To Killing Wife In Front Of Kids In Chula Vista

AN DIEGO, CA — A man accused of stabbing his wife to death in front of their three young children at their Chula Vista home four years ago, then fleeing to Mexico, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that include murder.

Francisco Uriarte, 41, was extradited to San Diego this week in connection with the March 29, 2020, killing of his 35-year-old wife, Natalia Uriarte, according to police.

The couple's children, 9-year-old twins and a 3-year-old, were present at the time, police said. Officers who responded to the couple's Oxford Street apartment at around 1:30 a.m. found Natalia Uriarte dead and her husband gone.

Uriarte had been at large since his wife's death until his arrest in May. Police have not disclosed the circumstances behind his capture.

In arguing to deny him bail, Deputy District Attorney Erin Casey said that in addition to being a danger to the community for the "brutal and violent" slaying, Uriarte also sent a voicemail to a witness in the case in which he threatened to kill that person.

Superior Court Judge Rebecca Kanter agreed to keep Uriarte jailed without bail. He's due back in court in December.

— City News Service