A 59-year-old man who pleaded guilty in May to a variety of charges, including the second-degree murder of his ex-girlfriend in Glendale, has been sentenced to 32 years in prison, authorities said.

On July 15, 2023, the victim’s teenaged children called Glendale police for help, stating that Victoriano Blas Alejo had repeatedly stabbed their mother and threatened one of them with a knife, according to a release from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

The two teenagers took their mother to a hospital, where she died.

Police investigators learned Alejo and the victim had recently broken up, and the victim had met someone new, according to MCAO.

“Alejo confessed it was anger and jealousy of this new relationship that prompted him to attack the victim while she slept in the living room,” the release stated.

Alejo pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault.

“This defendant waited to attack at the precise moment when the victim couldn’t defend herself,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said last week.

“While the sentence imposed won’t take away the pain of losing a loved one, it does bring justice to the family members who witnessed their mother’s murder.”

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