Man pleads guilty to double murder of family members in Imperial Beach

IMPERIAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA – A man who shot and killed his stepmother and half-brother in Imperial Beach faces life in prison without parole in November after pleading guilty to two counts of murder.

Marco Antonio Valadez Jr., 50, admitted Monday to the murder of 55-year-old Raquel Pitsenberger and her 36-year-old son, Marco “Tony” Valadez Jr., on Dec. 4, 2021.

Sheriff's officials found the victims in a home in the 1300 block of Fern Avenue that afternoon. Pitsenberger died at the scene and her son died at the hospital.

Valadez was arrested in Mexico less than two weeks after the fatal shootings and extradited to the United States.

Around the time of his arrest, prosecutors said the killings were intended to cover up sex crimes he had committed days earlier.

The San Diego County District Attorney's Office said in a statement at the time that the murders stemmed from an altercation “in which (Valadez) attempted to silence family members who were possible witnesses” to an alleged sexual assault on an 18-year-old family member that had occurred two days earlier.

Valadez was also charged with sexual assault for allegedly abusing a family member, but that charge was dropped as part of his plea deal on the murder charge.

Valadez also admitted to being charged with multiple counts of murder under special circumstances, which carries a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sentencing is scheduled for November 15.

— City News Service