Canutillo man sentenced to 38 years in prison for sister's murder

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A Canutillo man will spend 38 years in prison after accepting a plea deal.

On August 27, Juan Manuel Guzman pleaded guilty to the murder of his estranged sister, Karla Mariela Marroquin.

Marroquin was found dead in the apartment she shared with Guzman on February 3, 2022. Guzman was arrested and booked by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office after confessing to the crime.

According to District Attorney Bill Hicks, Marroquin was given up for adoption in Guatemala where she lived with her adoptive mother until Guzman smuggled Marroquin and her two children into the United States at an unknown date.

“Shortly after they moved in, Mr. Guzman began to become controlling. He began a romantic relationship with her and domestic violence followed shortly thereafter,” Hicks said at a news conference to discuss the negotiations.

“On the second day of February 2022, Mr. Guzman became very enraged. He believed that Ms. Marroquin had had sexual intercourse with another individual and he beat her with a bat. He also had a large handheld massager or some kind of massager that plugs into the wall with which he also beat her. Pieces of this massager were found inside the apartment and he beat her to death, leaving her body inside the apartment. He fled the scene, was later apprehended and eventually confessed to the facts of the case,” he said.

“By entering into the plea agreement, he waived his appeal, he waived his suppression motions. He waived all other issues. This case is finalized with this entry of a plea agreement. He will go to prison and there will be no appeal. This case is finalized,” Hicks said.

Hicks said the prosecutor’s office initially proposed 40 years in prison, although it believed a jury trial would yield a verdict higher than that number. The defense countered that with a sentence of 30 to 35 years, both sides ultimately agreed to the final sentence of 38 years.

“I think it’s fair to understand the plea bargaining process. Of course, with so many cases being filed, 8,000 cases on average a year in our criminal courts and 11 criminal courts, we have to negotiate cases. We have to offer plea agreements in order to move cases forward,” Hicks said.

“Mr. Marroquin’s children are relieved that they will not have to travel all the way from Guatemala to El Paso. They will not have to relive the abuse they witnessed, and they are relieved that justice has been served and that Mr. Guzman will be sent to prison,” he said.

The Centre for Sexual and Domestic Violence provides services to victims of sexual and domestic violence, regardless of their legal status. Assistance is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through CASFV’s bilingual Hopeline at (915) 593-7300

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