SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A man convicted of fatally stabbing his sister's ex-boyfriend in Chula Vista, then fleeing the country, was sentenced Wednesday to 51 years to life in state prison.
Raymond Lynde, 33, was found guilty of second-degree murder by a Chula Vista jury earlier this year for stabbing 23-year-old Ariel Burquez 28 times outside a Rancho Drive apartment complex.
According to trial testimony, Burquez had dated Lynde's sister for about six months, but after the relationship ended, he was accused of firing a gun at her weeks before he was killed.
Lynde then "ambushed" Burquez on July 18, 2020, got rid of the murder weapon and his bloody clothes, and took off for Mexico, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office said. Mexican authorities located and arrested him in 2022.
Though he admitted to stabbing Burquez, Lynde said it was done in self-defense. At the time of the slaying, the D.A.'s Office said Lynde had recently been released from prison for an Orange County armed robbery spree.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said, "This was a savage murder that was motivated by animosity and revenge. I hope today's sentence closes a chapter and brings a measure of justice for the family of Mr. Burquez."
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