Calif. Woman Said She Wanted to Cut off All Contact with Ex. Then He Killed Her with 'Ghost Gun' as She Drove

Jacob Bustamantez pleaded guilty to the 2022 murder of Faith Valenzuela

A California man pleaded guilty to the 2022 murder of his ex-girlfriend, whom he shot with a ghost gun.

Faith Valenzuela, a mother and cheer coach, was shot and killed on July 5, 2022 in Salinas, Calif., the Monterey County District Attorney said. Her ex, Jacob Bustamantez was arrested two days later.

Prosecutors said Bustamantez eventually admitted to fatally shooting Valenzuela and that DNA identified him as the killer.

Bustamantez texted Valenzuela early on the morning of July 5 and asked her for a ride. Nearly 20 minutes later, at approximately 3:10 a.m., prosecutors said he shot her with “a 9mm semi-automatic ghost gun" — a firearm without a serial number and often assembled from parts — causing her to crash the car into a wooden fence.

According to authorities, Bustamantez fled the scene, disposed of a pair of gloves, a magazine containing ammo and the ghost gun, which was later found on a roof.

Witnesses told police at the time that while Valenzuela and Bustamantez had remained in contact, she had informed her sisters she wanted to cut off ties with him just prior to her death, prosecutors said.

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Bustamantez faces 35 years to life in prison for the murder of Valenzuela and will be sentenced in October.

At the time of her death, Valenzuela had a 10-year-old daughter, according to a GoFundMe started in 2022. She was the cheerleading coach at Everett Alvarez High School in Salinas.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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