A 48-year-old Lake Forest man who testified that “the devil” came over him has been convicted of murder for bludgeoning his former long-time romantic partner to death with a metal pipe after learning she was in a relationship with another man.
An Orange County Superior Court jury on Monday, Nov. 27, found Omar Velazquezhuar guilty of first-degree murder for repeatedly striking 48-year-old Dora Maria Rosas Moreno in the head after she arrived for her job as a nanny at an Irvine home on the morning of Feb. 26, 2021. Moreno, a Santa Ana resident, spent several weeks in critical condition before succumbing to her injuries.
The jurors denied an enhancement alleging that Velazquezhuar was lying in wait prior to the killing. As a result, he faces up to 26 years to life in prison rather than life without the possibility of parole.
Velazquezhuar and Moreno spent more than 20 years together and had two children. But Moreno, several months before her death, kicked Velazquezhuar out of their Santa Ana apartment.
Days before the killing, Velazquezhuar learned that Moreno was dating another man, according to testimony. And the night before the attack, Velazquezhuar said he found the weapon — described by attorneys as a two-foot-long metal pipe meant to be used with a car jack — in a parking lot outside a bar.
“He wanted her back, but if he couldn’t have her, then no one could,” Deputy District Attorney Janine Madera told jurors. “So he decided to murder her when she would least suspect him to turn up.”
Velazquezhuar’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Paul Rogers, acknowledged his client attacked Moreno but argued it happened in the heat of passion and didn’t rise to the level of first-degree murder.
“I’m not excusing his conduct,” the defense attorney told jurors. “It is not OK, he committed a homicide. But your job is simply to assign the right crime to the conduct.”
For several months during the pandemic, Moreno lived with the family she was working for, and while preparing to move back to Santa Ana told Velazquezhuar she wanted him gone before she returned. According to testimony, Moreno suspected that Velazquezhuar had been with other women.
Velazquezhuar in testimony admitted confronting Moreno while brandishing the metal pipe but said he was trying to show her he was serious about winning her back. Through tearful testimony in a Santa Ana courtroom in which he appeared at times near-hysterical, Velazquezhuar described feeling “betrayed and humiliated” by Moreno. He said he couldn’t recall how many times he struck her or how hard.
“The devil came into me,” Velazquezhuar said. “I didn’t know what happened.”
Velazquezhuar admitted using a hammer to destroy home improvements Moreno’s new boyfriend made to her apartment, and smashing some of her car windows. Moreno was not present during that violence.
The morning of the fatal confrontation, the prosecutor alleged that Velazquezhuar ambushed Moreno when she parked in the Irvine neighborhood, pulling her back into her car, stopping her from crawling out the passenger’s side and beating her.
A member of the family Moreno worked for and at least one neighbor witnessed portions of the attack.
Bystanders helped police track down Velazquezhuar, who was trying to hide in a nearby parking lot.
He is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 19.
