EL CAJON, Calif.—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 slaying of 30-year-old Rhona Barcelon on April 16, 2021, at their home on Dain Court.
Deputies responded to the home at about 7:30 p.m. that night 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.
Both were hospitalized, but Rhona Barcelon died shortly after arriving at the hospital. Jay Barcelon underwent surgery and was later arrested on suspicion of murder and booked into the county jail.
On Nov. 2, Barcelon 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 Barcelon is expected to be sentenced next month to 16 years to life in state prison.
