On October 24, 2005 police made a gruesome discovery, the mother of 4 small children Erika Fuentes-De-Espinal had been shot to death by the children’s father Mark Donaldson.
Afterwards, this piece of garbage not fit to breath wrapped the body in blankets leaving it to decompose in the bedroom of the home where the children were living. The body was in that apartment for five entire days with the kids!
The night Donaldson was brought in for questioning he told police his relationship with Fuentes-De-Espinal had become increasingly violent since the birth of the twins. At one point, he told police, she beat him physically to the point of unconsciousness. But we know now that this was not true. Many offenders who commit murder often make up stories because the person is no longer around to dispute anything.
He said the two got into a fight and he became angry. The next night, Fuentes-De-Espinal came home late and he believed she was having an affair. He was still angry about their fight the day before, the arrest report says.
As Erika was changing one of the babies’ diapers, Donaldson retrieved his gun from a closet and shot her in the head, according to the report.In November of 2009, Donaldson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder as well as two counts of child abuse and neglect with substantial mental harm for keeping the children in the house with their dead mother.
Yesterday Donaldson, 30, was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes. He made a pitiful excuse as to why he murdered Erika telling police and the prosecutor he was addicted to methamphetamine when he killed her and was “sorry for what happened.” He claims all he ever wanted was to “be a good father to his children.” As if to tell the children’s mother on the record he was somehow not responsible at the time for his actions.
The Prosecutor remarked “there is no forgiveness. It doesn’t matter what state of mind the individual was in, nothing is going to bring this girl back,” he said, adding that the family felt that a sentence of 20 years to life wasn’t justice.
As I have often said, we need an isolated island to ship these men when they kill those with whom they are either living with or are married too. Why should we waste millions of tax payer dollars just so they can continue to exhaust a legal system that is obviously broken. All because we refuse, as a society to educate and deal with domestic violence within the home as a crime!
