Jorge Lara, the man who pleaded guilty to the murder and kidnapping of his girlfriend Irene Luevano, has been sentenced to over 30 years in prison. The 28-year-old received 25 years for the second-degree murder charge and an additional eight years for the kidnapping, as detailed in a FOX 10 Phoenix report.
According to court documents, after a night at the bar, Lara brutally stabbed Luevano, a 37-year-old mother of six, and dumped her body in a secluded area in La Paz County, left to die, a heartbroken family told the court — before witnessing Lara's sentencing. Having been found days after her disappearance, Luevano had reached out to family members stating she had been stabbed, FOX 10 reports.
Diego Teran, Lara's roommate at the time of the murder, played a crucial role in the case, leading detectives to Luevano's body after witnessing the act. Teran admitted to initially lying to officers about the murder, under the threat of violence against his family, according to a separate FOX 10 Phoenix article.
Awaiting the closing gavel, the courtroom heard the tormented voices of Luevano's family. "I miss her when I would call her in the morning so she can go with me to stores. I miss her calling me early in the morning to tell me happy birthday," said one family member, mourning the loss of their beloved Irene. The family's collective grief echoed through the space, sounding the depths of an irreparable absence. They were grappling to understand Lara's unfathomable actions and the consequent void felt in their lives.
The Phoenix Police Department uncovered Luevano's remains following a tip-off in a remote area off Hovatter Road and the I-10 freeway, with "obvious trauma to her body." The discovery ended a desperate search that began when Luevano disappeared on January 16. Court documents revealed that Lara had confessed to the stabbing, staging a robbery to cover his injuries, and snuffing out the life of the Phoenix mother.
Lara, during the investigation of the horrific series of events, also owned up to his involvement with the Sinaloa drug cartel, having bought a forged Arizona ID and Social Security card to gain employment.
