Visalia, CA-Today in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Judge Gary Paden sentenced Jose Luis Mata-Martinez, age 30, of Orosi, to 21 years to life in prison for the stabbing murder of a man and the attempted murder of a female in 2015.

On March 1, 2017, Mata-Martinez pleaded no contest to one count of second degree murder and one count of attempted murder without premeditation. Mata-Martinez also admitted the special allegation of using a deadly weapon, which was a knife.

In the late evening hours on January 31, 2015, Mata-Martinez was squatting in a trailer located on the victim’s property in Cutler. Upon hearing noises inside the trailer, the
victim went to inspect it when he was attacked by Mata-Martinez. Mata-Martinez stabbed the victim numerous times with an 8-inch knife. The victim’s wife tried to protect her husband and stop the assault when she was also stabbed in the wrist by Mata-Martinez. A neighbor was able to contact police, who arrested Mata-Martinez at the scene.