A man who shot and killed his stepmother and half-brother in Imperial Beach almost three years ago has pleaded guilty to two counts of murder.
Marco Antonio Valadez Jr., 50, admitted Monday to the Dec. 4, 2021, slayings of Raquel Pitsenberger, 55, and Marco “Tony” Valadez Jr., 36.
Valadez was charged with felony sexual assault. Those charges were dismissed as part of his plea to the murder counts.
He also admitted a special circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders, which can trigger a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 15.
Sheriff’s deputies found the victims inside a home in the 1300 block of Fern Avenue. Pitsenberger died at the scene, while her son died at a hospital.
Valadez was arrested in Mexico and extradited to the U.S. less than two weeks after the shootings.
Around the time of his arrest, prosecutors said the killings were intended to cover up sexual crimes he committed days earlier.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office said then in a statement that the murders stemmed from a confrontation “in which (Valadez) was trying to silence family members who were potential witnesses” to an alleged sexual assault of an 18-year-old family member two days prior to the shooting.
According to the DA’s Office, Valadez also has a 1998 conviction for forcible rape.
City News Service contributed to this report.
