Evaline Janet Lemus, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the shooting death of 22-year-old La Mesa resident Kimberly Gutierrez, whose body was found near a cul-de-sac at the end of Quarry Road on Oct. 20, 2021.
A deputy on patrol near Sweetwater Summit Regional Park found the body at around 3 a.m. that day, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
Gutierrez had been shot four times and she was bound at the wrists with makeshift handcuffs, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported last year.
About six months later, Lemus was charged with Gutierrez’s murder while already in custody on a separate case.
Information regarding motive or how Lemus was identified as a suspect was not immediately available.
Lemus was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life for murder, plus three years for allegations of using a firearm in the killing.