Crime & Safety
50 Years To Life: San Jose Man Sentenced For Ex's Stabbing Murder
A San Jose man has been sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for the 2015 stabbing murder of his ex-girlfriend, Alessandra Barlas.
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA -- A San Jose man was sentenced on Tuesday to 50 years to life in prison for the 2015 stabbing murder of his ex-girlfriend, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.
Hugo Castro, 29, was found guilty on Jan. 9 of murder with the enhancement of the personal use of a dangerous weapon, a knife.
Castro, pictured in the first photo above, turned himself in after he killed 27-year-old Alessandra Barlas (second photo above) in a downtown San Jose apartment on Oct. 26, 2015.
Find out what's happening in Saratogafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
That morning, Castro told a custody support assistant in the lobby of the Santa Clara County Main Jail that he wanted to turn himself in, sheriff's Sgt. James Jensen said.
The assistant, thinking Castro was turning himself in for a court order but finding no record or warrants for him, notified a correctional deputy, who asked Castro if he had any arrest warrants. Castro gave a handwritten note to the assistant reporting information on the homicide, but did not admit that he was responsible for the death or had committed a crime.
Find out what's happening in Saratogafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The deputy directed Castro to San Jose police headquarters around the block from the jail, Jensen said. The deputy was later reassigned from his position.
Castro went to police headquarters, where he turned over a handwritten note regarding a body at The Globe, an apartment building at 25 S. Third St.
Police then conducted a welfare check on apartment 113, where they found Barlas' body in a bed with stab wounds to her torso, according to a statement of facts filed by San Jose police Officer Wayne Smith.
Castro told police Barlas had agreed to meet him at the apartment, after which he strangled and stabbed her with a knife.
Barlas graduated from Cupertino High School in 2006 and earned a bachelor's degree in advertising from San Jose State University in 2010. She was admitted to the School of Nursing at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland six days before she was murdered.
Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via Shutterstock
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
