SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – A man was found guilty Tuesday for the murder of 21-year-old Hope Gabaldon back in 2016.
26-year-old Sergio Medina was found guilty by a jury on one charge of first-degree murder and one charge of obstructing justice.
West Valley authorities found Gabaldon covered in her own blood off to the side of the road near 3100 S. 4000 W. in February 2016. She was stabbed 20 times by Medina who admitted to killing Gabaldon while flashing the blood-covered weapon to the man he called for help fleeing the scene.
The Herriman woman’s death caught loved ones completely off guard, and for days Gabaldon’s silver Jeep was missing. Documents state when it did finally turn up in a parking lot of an apartment complex, investigators found it with “red/brown stains, resembling blood” in several areas, leading them to believe Gabaldon died in that SUV.
The day before Galbaldon was killed, officials say Medina texted his girlfriend at this time that he needed to “take someone out.”
Investigators later found a bag with Gabaldon’s paperwork and clothing in the girlfriend’s garage.
