A Kern County jury has convicted a 34-year-old man of murdering the mother of his two young children after a violent attack the children witnessed — a verdict that could keep him behind bars for decades. The case, tried over two weeks in Bakersfield, highlights both the severity of the attack and the legal questions around intent and domestic violence.
Jurors on Friday found Victor Farias Jr. guilty of first-degree murder, child abuse and resisting arrest for the March 25 killing of 30-year-old Yolanda Rojo, the Kern County District Attorney’s Office said. Sentencing is set for Nov. 2, and prosecutors say Farias faces 25 years to life in prison if the judge imposes the full term.
Police were called to the Shadow Ridge Apartments on College Avenue shortly before 10 p.m. that night. Officers discovered Rojo on the floor of her apartment, gravely wounded and covered in blood. She was taken to Kern Medical but was later pronounced dead.
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An autopsy described the injuries as severe and numerous. Investigators reported more than 90 separate wounds, including dozens of sharp-force injuries to the head, neck and back, multiple stab wounds and defensive wounds on Rojo’s arms and hands; three stab wounds to the head fractured her skull.
The couple’s daughters, ages 4 and 6, were present in the apartment during the attack. Court records and local news reports say the older child tried to call police for help before her phone was taken away. She ran to a neighbor and was reportedly captured on a doorbell camera shouting as she fled.
Neighbors contacted law enforcement, and officers later traced the scene to a vehicle — a black Nissan Altima — that fled the apartment complex. The car was involved in a collision with a tractor-trailer on Highway 58 later that night. Farias left the crash site and headed into the nearby Tehachapi mountain area, where he was located by authorities on March 26, according to prosecutors.
When officers detained him, prosecutors say Farias initially gave a false name and resisted arrest. At trial, the prosecution argued the number and severity of Rojo’s wounds supported a finding of premeditation and an intention to kill.
The defense acknowledged that Farias inflicted the stabbing wounds but urged jurors to convict on a lesser charge of second-degree murder, asserting the attack was impulsive rather than planned.
In a statement after the verdict, the Kern County District Attorney emphasized the role of the children’s actions and the physical evidence in securing the conviction, saying victims and families rely on the legal system to hold perpetrators accountable.
- Charges: First-degree murder, child abuse, resisting arrest.
- Date of attack: March 25; defendant arrested March 26 in Tehachapi.
- Victim: Yolanda Rojo, 30; two children, ages 4 and 6, were present.
- Autopsy findings: More than 90 wounds, including numerous sharp-force injuries and defensive wounds.
- Potential sentence: 25 years to life; sentencing Nov. 2.
The case underscores immediate concerns about intimate-partner violence and the collateral harm to children who witness extreme domestic incidents. Legal observers note the prosecution’s strategy — emphasizing the scale of injury and actions after the attack — was central to persuading the jury that the killing was deliberate rather than a spur-of-the-moment act.
With sentencing several weeks away, the outcome is likely to shape community conversations in Bakersfield about domestic violence response, protection for children, and how courts weigh evidence of intent in violent domestic cases.
