California Dad Sentenced to 78 Years Jail After Pleading Guilty to Murder His Three Sons

A California man has been sentenced to 78 years in jail for killing three of his boys.

Luiz Fuentes, 38, was immediately sentenced by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench to three counts of first-degree murder, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office reported on Tuesday.

Officials said that Fuentes had confessed to special charges that he had used a knife during the 2015 incident.

Dad was accused of fatally stabbing his young sons in the back of his SUV after parking on 32nd Street in Los Angeles.

Fuentes was found with multiple stab wounds inside the vehicle around the sunrise on September 9, 2015, while his three children — identified as Luis, 10, Juan, 9, and Alexander, 8—were found dead in the back seat, KTLA posted.

A local pastor had previously told the outlet that Fuentes was unemployed and had been staying in the SUV with his sons at the time of the murders.

Fuentes was depressed after his wife — the mother of his children — died a brain aneurysm in 2008, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The publication stated that, starting in 2010, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services received numerous calls for reported violence in the family. Officials were only able to confirm one accusation, leading Fuentes and his sons to be observed for a year, according to the outlet.

A court allowed Fuentes to stop his supervision of caseworkers in 2011 without completing his court-ordered grief counselling sessions, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing records.

After the deaths of the children of Fuentes, L.A. County DCFS has started an investigation into whether the allegations of suspected crimes have been adequately treated by social workers, according to the outlet.

Online prison records reveal that Fuentes is currently being held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, awaiting transfer to the state prison.