California Today

Death Sentence Upheld for Father Who Buried Slain Children in Angeles National Forest

01 June 2026 16:00

The California Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of Marco Esquivel Barrera for murdering his two young children and burying them in the Angeles National Forest. - Barrera was convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances of torture and multiple murders.

- The court rejected challenges to the conviction and sentence, with a dissenting opinion criticizing prosecutorial misconduct. - The children, ages 2 and 5, were beaten to death and buried in shallow graves; acid was poured on the girl's body.

- Barrera's own children testified against him during the penalty phase. The ruling affirms the death penalty for a case described by the trial judge as the most horrendous he had seen in 28 years.

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