Mexican citizen admits to killing Hamilton man he believed had raped his girlfriend
Fermin Garcia-Gutierrez, 47, could spend up to the rest of his life in prison once sentenced next month for the murder of 41-year-old Fernando Reyna Oviedo, according to Butler County Common Pleas documents.
By pleading guilty, Garcia-Gutierrez avoids the possibility of receiving the death penalty after he was indicted for aggravated murder, kidnapping and other charges in 2024.
Garcia-Gutierrez was already in jail on gun and drug charges when the Oviedo's body was discovered in a Hamilton garage. Oviedo and another man lived in the house on the property, while Garcia-Gutierrez stayed in the garage.
Oviedo, who'd been beaten and shot in the head, was found entangled in an inflatable mattress by a fourth man who had entered the garage looking for a borrowed cement mixer that he aimed to return to its owner.
In court testimony last April, Hamilton Police Sgt. Eric Taylor said Garcia-Gutierrez admitted to Taylor he confronted Oviedo after believing the man had raped his girlfriend.
According to Taylor, Garcia-Gutierrez said the conversation got heated and he bashed Oviedo with a shovel.
During the plea hearing June 9, Enquirer media partner Fox 19 reports Garcia-Gutierrez' translator said the man does not remember speaking with Taylor about what happened in the garage.
"He showed… me… the video for when I spoke to the detective, but I don't remember that," the translator said for Garcia-Gutierrez, according to Fox 19. "I was very drugged up.'
Garcia-Gutierrez's case made national news after being painted as an example of the impact of America's border policy.
Garcia-Gutierrez, an undocumented immigrant, has been deported from the United States six times starting in 2007, an ICE spokesman told The Enquirer in 2024. His latest removal was in 2019, which followed a conviction the previous year for illegal reentry.
Throughout his time in the United States, Garcia-Gutierrez has faced other charges in Butler County dating back to 2006, including carrying a concealed weapon, driving without a license and improperly handling a firearm in a car.
Garcia-Gutierrez will be sentenced before Butler County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer McElfresh on July 10 at 9:30 a.m.
More: Police: Undocumented immigrant said he killed man over girlfriend's alleged rape
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mexican citizen Fermin Garcia-Gutierrez admits to killing Hamilton man
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