Maricela Diaz was fifteen years old when she helped murder another teenage girl in South Dakota. According to court documents Maricela Diaz and Alexander Salgado would lure the victim to a remote location where the sixteen year old victim was stabbed repeatedly, placed inside of a vehicle and set on fire. Maricela Diaz would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to eighty years in prison. This teen killer has appealed her sentence
Marciela Diaz 2023 Information
Age 28
Race Hispanic or Latino
Gender Female
Hair Color Brown
Eye Color Brown
Height 4′ 11″
Weight 115 lbs.
Location South Dakota Women’s Prison
Maricela Diaz Other News
Maricela Diaz was barely a teenager when she helped murder another teenage girl. Now, that decision could cost her 80 years of her life.
In January, a jury found Maricela Diaz guilty on all charges relating to the 2009 death of a Jasmine Guevara. Friday, a judge sentenced Diaz to 80 years in prison for first degree murder and 50 years for aggravated assault, which will be served concurrently.
The sentencing in Alexandria took most of the day, where prosecutors held up a picture of Guevara, then a picture of her burned body after her death. A short time later, 20-year-year-old Maricela Diaz learned her fate.
“I will be sad for the rest of my life,” said Guevara’s mother Ada Morales.
Nearly five and a half years after the 16-year-old’s death, her mother and sister spoke about the things Jasmine will never experience.
“I wanted her to see the life, the beautiful life that she took away,” said Jasmine’s sister Ada Guevara.
Guevara says no words can describe the hurt, pain and trauma her family has endured. She described her younger sister as the first person to lend a hand, just as she did to Alexander Salgado and Diaz when they first arrived in Mitchell.
Guevara said, “This is it. This was our last chance. This is all we get. I was just trying to express. I had just been trying to express what had been piling up for the last five years.”
On Nov. 10, 2009, Maricela Diaz, who was 15 at the time, and Salgado, lured Jasmine to a remote site near Mitchell. She was stabbed and left for dead in the trunk of a burning car. Before Diaz was sentenced, she told the victim’s family she hopes they will be able to forgive her for her role in Jasmine’s death.
In one of the rare moments that we’ve seen her cry, she said, “I ask you, your honor, please have mercy on me.”
“It’s truly hard to say what Maricela Diaz feels or what she thinks. Only she can say those things,” said Guevara.
While the judge recognized that Maricela Diaz has now been incarcerated for a fourth of her life and has since gotten her GED, the judge said her crime crossed the bounds of all human decency. For that, she will serve at least 40 years behind bars.
Morales said, “I don’t know if any sentence will be enough, but I don’t know about for everybody, but it’s fair enough.”
The defense said Maricela Diaz wanted the chance to raise her young daughter. They asked that she be sentenced to 15 years in prison. The judge says he set the price for taking Jamine’s life very, very high.
Salgado pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree murder in august of 2010, after accepting a plea deal. He is now serving a life sentence.
Maricela Diaz More News
A 16-year-old girl accused of murdering a fellow 16-year-old Mitchell girl two years ago made her first appearance in adult court Wednesday.
Maricela Diaz, 16, of Fort Wayne, Ind., and Guanajuato, Mexico, appeared in court in Alexandria and was charged with first-degree murder, felony murder by arson, first degree arson, felony murder committed during kidnapping and second-degree aggravated kidnapping
If convicted on the most severe charges, she would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison. According to the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office, states cannot seek the death penalty for an offender who was younger than 18 at the time the crime was committed.
The charges stem from the murder of Jasmine Guevara, 16, of Mitchell, on Nov. 10, 2009. Diaz and Alexander Salgado, 21, were arrested for the murder. Until Wednesday, Diaz’s identity was concealed by authorities because of her juvenile status, and she was known to the public only as “M.D.”
South Dakota law says the courts may use a number of factors to weigh whether a child should be tried in adult court, including the seriousness of an alleged felony offense and whether the alleged felony was committed in an “aggressive, violent, premeditated or willful manner.”
No juvenile prosecuted for a crime may stay within the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections beyond age 21, according to state law, which may have been a reason for transferring Diaz to adult court.
Court documents state both Diaz and Salgado admitted during police interviews that they killed Guevara. Salgado, who has a child with Diaz, pleaded guilty in 2010 to second-degree murder as part of a plea agreement with the state. He was sentenced to life in prison and is currently serving his sentence at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. Diaz is being held in the Minnehaha County juvenile detention center.
Guevara was lured to a rural Hanson County house under false pretenses, stabbed and burned alive in the trunk of her car. Salgado told authorities that Diaz was fueled by jealousy of Guevara.
Court documents state Guevara, Salgado and Diaz attended a party on Nov. 8, 2009. Witnesses at the party said Diaz became jealous because of a suspected relationship between Guevara and Salgado.
“Diaz indicated that she wanted to fight with Jasmine, but no such fight ensued that evening,” according to court documents.
” ‘I’m gonna kill you and I’m gonna kill the girl,’ ” Salgado quoted Diaz as saying.
Diaz and Salgado had been staying with an acquaintance at a residence approximately one block from where Guevara resided, according to court documents. Both residences are near the corner of First and Minnesota in Mitchell.
Court documents state Diaz and Salgado told Guevara to pick them up to attend a cookout.
“When Guevara picked Salgado and Diaz up at their residence, Salgado and Diaz had secured and hidden a knife for each of them,” court documents state.
According to a portion of court records read aloud during Salgado’s sentencing by his attorney, Mike Fink, of Bridgewater, Salgado admitted that he drove with Diaz and Guevara in Guevara’s car to the “Haunt House,” an unoccupied building in rural Hanson County. After leaving the car on Diaz’s instruction, Salgado returned to the sound of screaming and found Diaz repeatedly stabbing Guevara in the legs and stomach with such force that the blade of the knife bent.
Court documents state Salgado returned to the car to find the doors locked. He gained entrance into the vehicle, sat behind Guevara, who was in the driver’s seat, and stabbed Guevara “a number of times.”
“At some point during the attack, Guevara was able to open the driver’s side door in an attempt to escape,” according to court documents. “However, Salgado grabbed Guevara by the hair in order to restrain her and keep her from escaping.”
The knife stayed in Guevara’s neck as the two put her body in the trunk, drove the car into some trees and ignited the car with lighter fluid Guevara had purchased earlier that evening under the belief that it was for a cookout.
The fire was determined to be the cause of Guevara’s death.
Court documents state a search of the residence where Diaz and Salgado were staying revealed clothing soiled with Guevara’s blood. Guevara’s phone was recovered in an area provided by Salgado and Diaz.
Even after Salgado confessed to Guevara’s murder, he still referred to Diaz as “sweetie” and “my love,” according to court documents.
“I love you a lot,” Salgado told Maricela Diaz in Spanish after his first police interview. “Everything I did was for love.”
Until Wednesday, the status of the girl known as “M.D.” was secret. The South Dakota Attorney General’s Office remained quiet on any details surrounding Diaz, citing a policy that prohibits the office from commenting on juvenile matters.
Court documents state a motion to transfer Maricela Diaz to adult court was heard between Jan. 31 and Feb. 4. She was officially transferred to adult court Wednesday by Judge Sean O’Brien.
A representative from Hanson County State’s Attorney Jim Davies’ office said Davies is not taking any questions on the case. Sara Rabern, spokeswoman for the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office, said Doug Dailey and Chris Nipe, both of Mitchell, have been appointed to represent Diaz.
First-degree murder, felony murder by arson and felony murder committed during kidnapping are all Class A felonies punishable by a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Second-degree aggravated kidnapping is a Class 1 felony punishable by a maximum of 50 years in prison. Firstdegree arson is a Class 2 felony with a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/1536706-second-guevara-murder-suspect-maricela-diaz-moved-adult-court
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