A 21-year-old California man has admitted to killing four people and setting their home ablaze in what prosecutors call a calculated act of revenge after a romantic breakup, and now faces life in prison without parole.
Miguel Diego Sandoval pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder with special-circumstance allegations, including multiple murders and murder by means of lying in wait, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office announced. The charges stem from a November 16, 2024 attack at a home on North Tabler Avenue in Lancaster, a city in northern Los Angeles County, that left four young adults dead and a teenager trapped inside a burning house.
Sandoval also admitted to attempted murder, first-degree residential burglary, arson of an inhabited structure, two counts of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death, and three felony animal cruelty counts. Three family dogs died in the fire.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman laid out the motive plainly at a news conference. Sandoval had been in a romantic relationship with a brother of two of the victims, Christine Aca-ac and Janvi Maquindang. When that relationship ended, prosecutors say, Sandoval targeted the family.
"The defendant was jilted when he broke up with his boyfriend and then did something unimaginable when he killed four innocent people."
Sandoval waited in the dark until his victims went to sleep
Prosecutors described a chilling sequence. On the night of November 16, 2024, Sandoval lurked outside the Lancaster home and waited until the occupants went to bed. He then entered the residence and opened fire.
Four people were killed: Janvi Maquindang, 21; Christine Aca-ac, 25; Edwin Garcia, 24; and Matthew Montebello, 21. After the shooting, Sandoval set the home on fire and fled.
A 16-year-old who was inside the home survived by locking herself in a bedroom and calling 911. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies pulled her from the burning structure. Her name has not been released. The attempted murder and child abuse charges appear connected to her ordeal, though the DA's office has not specified which charges correspond to which victim beyond the four murder counts.
Montebello had turned 21 only days before the attack. He was shot in the head, rushed from the scene, and placed in a coma before he died. The other three victims were killed inside the home. The case recalls other mass shooting tragedies in California that have left families shattered and communities searching for answers.
Victims' families describe lives cut short by a single act of violence
The people Sandoval killed were not strangers to each other. Christine Aca-ac and Edwin Garcia were engaged. A GoFundMe page organized by Christine's sister described her as a "funny, vibrant and deeply caring older sister" who had served as legal guardian and protector for her younger siblings. Garcia, known to his family as "Fernando" or "Fer," dreamed of becoming an educator in academics and music.
Janvi Maquindang, Christine's brother, had graduated as valedictorian of his high school class. He was 21.
Andrew Montebello, Matthew's older brother, organized a separate GoFundMe for his family. He described Matthew as "talented, smart and relentlessly curious." Matthew was the youngest of the four victims, barely into adulthood when he was killed.
Garcia's mother, Yemi Olivares, wrote on a GoFundMe page in the aftermath of the killings:
"As a mother, I am completely and utterly devastated."
Christine's sister later expanded the family's fundraiser to help the younger siblings find housing, continue their education, and rebuild. The attack did not just end four lives. It dismantled the support structure an entire family depended on. Violent crimes that erase multiple members of a household in a single night, like the devastating murder-suicide in Houston that killed a mother and her two young children, leave survivors facing grief compounded by practical catastrophe.
Hochman promises a lifetime behind bars
The guilty plea means Sandoval will not face a trial. The special-circumstance allegations, multiple murders and lying in wait, ensure the sentence carries no possibility of parole. Hochman made that explicit.
"This was a calculated act of violence that left a void for the victims' families that can never be filled. Rest assured this guilty plea will result in a lifetime prison sentence."
Sentencing is scheduled for November 17 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, the main criminal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. The exact year was not specified in the DA's announcement, but the proceeding follows the guilty plea. LA County Sheriff Robert Luna appeared alongside Hochman at the news conference.
The breadth of the charges reflects the full scope of what Sandoval did that night. Four murder counts. Attempted murder. Burglary. Arson. Two child abuse counts. Three animal cruelty felonies. Each charge maps to a separate act of violence or endangerment, a catalog of deliberate harm carried out in a matter of minutes against people who were asleep in their own home. Cases involving confirmed multiple killings almost always produce sentences that guarantee the perpetrator never walks free again, and this one will be no different.
What remains unanswered
Several questions sit unresolved in the public record. How Sandoval entered the home, whether he forced a door or found it unlocked, has not been disclosed. The identity of the 16-year-old survivor and her relationship to the other occupants remain undisclosed, likely because she is a minor. The exact date Sandoval entered his guilty plea has not been publicly stated.
Nor is it clear whether additional individuals were investigated in connection with the attack, or whether Sandoval acted entirely alone. The DA's office has described this as a solo act of revenge, and nothing in the public record contradicts that account. Violent incidents involving multiple fatalities in a single event often raise questions about warning signs and prevention, questions that may surface at sentencing.
What is clear is the outcome. A 21-year-old man waited in the dark outside a house full of sleeping people, walked in, and opened fire because a relationship ended. He killed four people. He killed three dogs. He burned the house down. And a teenager survived only because she locked a door and dialed 911 fast enough for deputies to reach her.
Life without parole is not justice for the dead. Nothing is. But it is the minimum a civilized society owes the living, the guarantee that the man who did this will never do it again.
