Men Convicted in Brutal California Hot Tub Slaying

Jurors on Tuesday convicted Jose Rafael Andrademembreno, 29, and Edwin Diaz, 25, on multiple felony counts for a gruesome 2018 gang-related slaying, the Los Angeles Times reports. Marco Morales and his girlfriend, 18-year-old Jessica Rodriguez, were relaxing in a hot tub at their apartment complex in Lake Forest, Calif., when they were ambushed around 3am by the pair—alleged members of the MS-13 gang—who shouted gang slogans as they attacked. Morales tried to fend off his attackers with a patio chair, but was stabbed more than 18 times with a machete-style knife, a weapon prosecutors say is favored by the gang.

Despite his injuries, Morales managed to escape and ran through his apartment building, screaming for help. Andrademembreno and Diaz chased him down and continued the assault, nearly decapitating him with the machete, per prosecutors, and ultimately killing him. His body was found hours later by a neighbor, KTLA reports. Rodriguez survived after being stabbed by Xiomara Berrios, Diaz's 18-year-old sister, who was also present. Berrios, who was dating Andrademembreno at the time, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying against the men. It was Berrios, who lived at the same apartment complex as Morales, who alerted her boyfriend to his presence at the hot tub, New Santa Ana reports.

Prosecutors said Morales was not a gang member. The attack was reportedly triggered by a dispute over a gun Morales sold to a boy known to Andrademembreno. Morales retrieved the weapon after the boy bragged about it online, but did not return the money—an act that prosecutors say angered Andrademembreno. Andrademembreno and Berrios were arrested the same day as the attack, with investigators finding Morales' blood on their clothing. Diaz was arrested days later while washing bloody clothes at a laundromat. Both men were convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances, conspiracy to commit murder, and use of a deadly weapon. They face life without parole at sentencing in January.