An illegal immigrant accused of triple murder is taunting a California court
NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
An illegal immigrant accused of murdering a two-week-old baby, the child’s mother and the child’s grandmother smiled as he appeared in a California courtroom Monday as distraught relatives of the victims watched from the gallery.
Joaquin Escoto, 28, entered Stanislaus County Superior Court in handcuffs at the wrists and ankles, wearing an orange and white jail uniform and sitting beside his attorney and a Spanish interpreter. But it was his anger during the trial that stood out as family members were still confused about what prosecutors accused of being a brutal triple murder.
Escoto faces three counts of murder in the deaths of Fabiola Gonzalez-Nunez, 23, her newborn son Mateo Gonzalez and Sylvia Nunez-Villalobos, 54. He also faces allegations of special circumstances for multiple victims, possession of a knife, child abuse resulting in the death of a child under the age of 8 and child endangerment involving the couple’s three-year-old child.
The hearing lasted only a few minutes, but for the relatives of the victims watching in the gallery, the pain remains constant.
TRANSPORTER KILLINGS TIDE SAID TO BE UP AS OFFICIALS WARN OF KILLING SPEECH, NECESSARY
Joaquin Escoto appeared in Stanislaus County Superior Court after prosecutors charged him with three counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of a mother, her newborn son and the child’s grandmother. (KTXL)
“And it really destroyed us. I don’t know how we’re going to live our lives now,” Maria Nunez, sister of Sylvia Nunez-Villalobos and aunt of Fabiola Gonzalez-Nunez, told KTXL.
Nunez described her niece as a young woman whose future had just begun.
📩 Do you have a story tip? Email me at stepheny.price@fox.com.
📸 Captured a photo with good news? I posted it on Instagram at @fndstepprice.
🎥 Have you witnessed the best news or recorded a compelling video? Reach X in @Stephenyprice.
🚨 See something happening in your community? I welcome tips, photos, and videos that help tell important stories.
ILLEGAL VISITOR CHARGED IN CHEERLEADER’S MURDER ‘KNOWED WHAT HE WAS DOING’ DESPITE LATEST CONVERSATION, MOTHER SAYS.
“He clipped his wings,” Nunez said. “He had his whole life ahead of him. He had a goal. He had dreams.”
The family says they still don’t know what caused the killing of these people and they want answers as they try to understand the tragedy.
“They gave him all their love, their respect, and were there for him,” another relative told KTXL. “We just don’t understand what was going on in his head.”
The death was especially difficult for loved ones because baby Mateo was only two weeks old when prosecutors say he was killed along with his mother and grandmother.
GOT ADVICE?
Fabiola Gonzalez-Nunez and her mother, Sylvia Nunez-Villalobos, were among three family members killed in a stabbing in Modesto, California. (US Department of Homeland Security)
Adding another explosive layer to the case is the story of the arrival of the Escotos.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Escoto is a Mexican national who entered the United States illegally in 2018 and was deported during the Trump administration. Federal officials say he later returned to the country illegally and racked up numerous arrests, including four DUI arrests.
FOLLOW US ON X
DHS says Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed a detainer against Escoto following a June 2025 DUI arrest, requesting that local authorities transfer him to federal custody. Instead, according to federal officials, he was released without ICE being notified.
AN ILLEGAL MAN SUSPECTED OF KILLING A 15-YEAR-OLD MISSOURI BOY WAS ARRESTED.
Now, after the deaths of three members of the same family, ICE has once again placed a detainee on Escoto’s custody should he be released from the Stanislaus County Jail.
GET NEWS VIA EMAIL
Joaquin Escoto Vazquez faces three counts of murder in connection with the deaths of a mother, her two-week-old son and the child’s grandmother in Modesto, California. (US Department of Homeland Security)
State officials blasted California’s sanctuary policies after the killings, saying the killings may never have happened if immigration authorities had been allowed to detain Escoto after his earlier arrest.
“This horrific animal crime could have been prevented if sanctuary politicians in California had already cooperated with ICE law enforcement,” DHS Acting Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE NEWS
“This illegal Mexican gangster is now charged with aggravated murder of a child after stabbing to death an infant, the child’s mother, and the child’s grandmother. ICE had him in custody after he was arrested for drunk driving in 2025, but California politicians chose to release him instead of turning him over to ICE.”
Bis went on to criticize California’s sanctuary policies, saying they continue to put public safety at risk by allowing illegal immigrants who are criminals to be released back into communities rather than transferred to federal custody.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
According to DHS, Escoto was removed from the United States before he re-entered the country illegally at an unknown date and location. The agency said ICE has now placed a new detainee following his arrest in a triple murder case.
Escoto remains jailed without bail and is scheduled to return to Stanislaus County Superior Court on July 28 at 8:30 a.m.
