Last Updated on July 29, 2022 by C-CAR
A man has pleaded guilty to murder in a DUI crash in Canyon Lake that killed two Lake Elsinore residents, court records show.
Jose Luis Sepulveda, 34, is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 9 after he entered his pleas on July 25 at Southwest Justice Center in French Valley. He admitted to two counts of second-degree murder and four counts related to driving under the influence. Some other Vehicle Code violations, as well as a charge of failing to appear in court, were dropped.
The crash happened just before 10 p.m. on Jan. 24, 2020, on Railroad Canyon Road, west of Goetz Road.
A car traveling east on Railroad Canyon Road rear-ended a second car traveling in the same direction, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said. One of those cars then crossed over the center divider, crashing into a third car traveling west.
Tina Slatten, 58, and Benita Heyden, 57, were in the third car. They were killed.
Sepulveda’s plea was to the judge and did not involve the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, said John Hall, a DA spokesman.
No sentencing length was specified in the plea agreement. Sepulveda remains in custody.
