A Filipino American man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 50 years, for the murders of his father-in-law and brother-in-law in Valley Center, San Diego County. The sentencing took place on Friday, following the conviction of Christian Bobila, 46, by a Vista jury earlier this year.
According to an Inquirer.net report, Bobila was found guilty of the June 26, 2022, killings of 79-year-old Vicente Reyes and 45-year-old Vincent Reyes. Prosecutors attributed the tragic incident to a “long-simmering family schism” related to Bobila’s marriage to Vicente Reyes’ daughter, which had occurred without her father’s blessing.
On the day of the murders, Bobila traveled from the Bay Area to the Reyes family residence in Valley Center. According to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Bobila first shot his brother-in-law Vincent Reyes three times while Vincent was on a phone call. He then proceeded to an upstairs bedroom where he shot his father-in-law, Vicente Reyes, in the head and chest. Following the shootings, Bobila went downstairs and informed his mother-in-law that her son was dead while pointing to the patio.
Prosecutors revealed that Bobila’s wife attempted to intervene, but Bobila killed her father in her presence. After committing the murders, Bobila fled the scene in his father-in-law’s black minivan and was arrested by officers about a mile away from the home. Neighbors reported that Vicente Reyes had lived in the house for 16 years.
Bobila pleaded not guilty during his arraignment. However, in March, he was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, firearm enhancements, and a special-circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders.
“This was a horrific murder that senselessly devastated an entire family,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement. “Although nothing is a substitute for the death of the two victims, I hope their surviving family members receive a measure of justice with the murder convictions and with today’s sentence.”