Man Pleads Guilty To Killing Canton Siblings

CANTON, GA — A man has entered a guilty plea to murdering the mother of his child and her brother inside an apartment complex. Jose Oscar Tierrablanca-Gierro entered guilty pleas to two counts of felony murder and six counts of aggravated assault, court records show.

Tierrablanca-Gierro was sentenced to life in prison on Oct. 17 by Cherokee County Superior Court Judge Jackson Harris. The defendant pleaded guilty to killing Canton residents Omar Ruiz, 23, and Antonia Ruiz, 27, who were found dead on Friday, July 22, 2016, following an attack inside building 3000 at the Laurels at Greenwood Apartments.

Canton police officers responded to a call of an assault around 1:30 a.m. at the complex at 1215 Hickory Flat Highway. Officers found a man and woman "lying in the breezeway of the third floor," Canton police previously told Patch. Omar Ruiz was pronounced dead at the scene while his sister died after she was transported to Northside Hospital-Cherokee.

Tierrablanca-Gierro, who police said is the father of the woman's child, was arrested and charged with two counts of malice murder in connection to the case.

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In October 2016, he was indicted on two counts each of malice murder, felony murder and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime as well as six counts of aggravated assault.

According to the indictment, Tierrablanca-Gierro stabbed the pair several times, inflicting wounds in their extremities, torsos and chest.

Image via Cherokee Sheriff's Office