A man who fatally stabbed his wife at the couple’s Lemon Grove home pleaded guilty this week to a second-degree murder count.
Jay Barcelon, 32, was arrested and charged for the 2021, slaying of Rhona Fantone, 30, at their home on Dain Court.
Deputies responded to the home at about 7:30 p.m. April 16 for a report of “a domestic incident with a male and female reportedly arguing,” said Lt. Thomas Seiver of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
Seiver said deputies heard screaming inside the home and forced their way inside, where they found both Barcelon and his wife injured.
Medics sent both to the hospital, but the victim died shortly after arriving. Jay Barcelon underwent surgery and was later arrested on suspicion of murder and booked into county jail.
On Wednesday, the defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, plus an allegation of using a knife in his wife’s killing, according to Deputy District Attorney Miriam Shoval. The prosecutor said he is expected to be sentenced next month to 16 years to life in state prison.
The family of the victim, a mother of two who worked in Coronado according to 10News.com, asked media outlets after her death to identify her by her maiden name, not her husband’s.
– City News Service and staff reports