STOCKTON, Calif. — Jose Carmen Cardona was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for setting a mobile home on fire that killed a mother and two of her young sons.
According to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, Cardona pleaded guilty and received consecutive life sentences for three counts of premeditated, deliberate, and willful first-degree murder. He also received a consecutive life sentence for attempted murder of the surviving child, Max, 14. A child abuse charge was stayed because it involved the same victim.
Cardona was additionally convicted of arson of an inhabited structure causing great bodily injury to multiple victims, as well as two counts of vandalism for damage to neighboring residences.
Prosecutors said Cardona threatened to kill Lizbeth Gutierrez-Salazar after she ended their two-year relationship on June 24, 2024, and took her three sons — Max, 14; Julian, 10; and Juan, 7 — to her father’s home.
The following morning, shortly after 6 a.m., the Stockton Fire Department responded to a mobile home fire on Visalia Court near Harbor Street. Firefighters found Gutierrez-Salazar and her sons Julian and Juan deceased inside. Max survived, telling investigators he had seen Cardona inside the home before the fire engulfed it. A neighboring residence was also damaged.
Cardona was arrested in Modesto the month after the fire. Authorities clarified that Gutierrez-Salazar was his ex-spouse.
San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas said the plea ensures Cardona will spend the rest of his life in prison, providing finality for the victims’ family. “While no sentence can ever bring back this devoted mother and her children, the defendant’s decision to accept responsibility provides an immediate and final resolution and ensures he will face severe, permanent consequences for these heinous crimes,” Freitas said.
