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Craig James Charron, a 39-year-old Air Force veteran, has been found guilty of violently and fatally stabbing his girlfriend, Laura Sardinha, 25, at their Huntington Beach apartment in September 2020.
The jury decided the matter quickly. They began their deliberations on Monday afternoon and by the next morning they had reached a guilty verdict.
The jury found Charron guilty of first-degree murder. The conviction includes a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a knife. He is set to be sentenced on July 25.
Jurors began deliberations on Monday afternoon and reached a verdict by Tuesday morning.
It turned out Charron had a history of awful behavior with women. The prosecutor, Janine Madera, the Senior Orange County Deputy District Attorney presented the jury with evidence of Charron’s history of domestic violence, including testimonies from three women who had obtained restraining orders against him.
Madera told the jury that Charron planned his escape after the murder but he returned to the apartment upon seeing police outside.
Madera made it clear to the jury that this was not a crime of passion but rather a planned murder, emphasizing the intent by Charron to kill. She said “He intended to kill her. Nothing could be more crystal clear.”
Michael Guisti, Charron’s defense attorney, told the jury that there was reasonable doubt due to untested evidence and he ridiculously claimed that Sardinha’s murder was mutual combat.
Guisti made the case that Charron did not intend to kill Sardinha despite acknowledging the many prior domestic violence allegations made by the three other women victimized by Charron.
The prosecutor presented evidenceduring the trial that included text messages and video recordings of their interactions.
Charron and Sardinha met in June 2020 and quickly moved in together. By August, their relationship had deteriorated, with Sardinha accusing Charron of abuse.
Sardinha, who had been working as a bartender’s assistant, had gotten into a motorcycle accident in 2019, which left her unable to work in her job. She then began to pursue a psychology degree.
In a settlement from the motorcycle accident, Sardinha received $750,000, of which she generously gave Charron $100,000. After he recived the money, Charron responded by text, saying, “Thank you for showing me that you are all mine,”
Two weeks before Sardinha’s murder, Charron allegedly busted her eardrum. In an exchange recorded on her cell phone just two weeks before her murder and presented by the prosecutor during the trial, Sardinha complained to Charron that she couldn’t hear because of a busted eardrum. “You keep hitting me,” she said. “Massage my calves or end this relationship,” he replied.
On the day of her murder, Charron reportedly woke Sardinha up in the morning, and he demanded oral sex. She recorded this exchange on her cell phone. On the recording she is heard telling him to leave her alone and get away from her. She said “You terrify me because you won’t leave.”
That same day, Sept. 2, 2020, before noon, Sardinha’s apartment manager arranged for maintenance to change the locks on her apartment, the L.A. Times reported. Sardinha then began to ignore Charron’s calls and texts.
Charron must have surely been stewing and making his plans as she kept him at arm’s length.
At around 1:15 p.m., while Sardinha was on a three-way call with her best friend and her mother, tshe suddently said, “Oh my God, he’s here.”
Sardinha was heard screaming, “Get off me!,” on the recorded call. Her best friend called 911 at that point as her call with Sardinha ended.
Sardinha called back and left a most eerie final voicemail. The prosecutor told the jurors “If you listen to it carefully, you hear a woman narrating her own murder,” during her closing argument at Charron’s trial, according to the L.A. Times.
Charron stabbed Sardinha in the chest, nearly cut off her nose and “stabbed her head so viciously that it bent the knife,” according to KTLA, citing prosecutors.
In California, a conviction for first-degree murder typically results in one of the following sentences:
- 25 years to life in prison.
- Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
- The death penalty (in rare and particularly egregious cases).
When a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a knife is added, it can increase the prison term by one year. This enhancement is applied consecutively, meaning it is added to the base sentence for the murder conviction.
So, if someone is convicted of first-degree murder with this enhancement, they could face a minimum of 26 years to life in prison.
According to a GoFundMe page set up by her family, Sardinha was a vibrant and passionate 25 year old, recovering from a major motorcycle accident. She was transforming herself in school working toward a psychology degree devoting herself to helping others. She also shared her culinary skills baking elegant and creative cupcakes, cookies, cakes, and other sweets for her family and friends. Laura gave of herself easily and generously, and had beautiful and loving relationships with her parents, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and numerous friends.
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