Husband sentenced for 2017 deadly Sacramento stabbing of man dating his wife
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A judge sentenced Arturo Hernandez to 16 years to life in prison for a 2017 stabbing.
- A jury convicted Hernandez of second-degree murder for stabbing Anthony Freas.
- Prosecutors said Hernandez killed Freas who was dating Hernandez’s estranged wife.
A judge on Friday sentenced a man to 16 years to life in prison for a 2017 Sacramento stabbing in which the victim was dating the defendant’s estranged wife.
A jury in March found Arturo Hernandez, 33, guilty of second-degree murder in the stabbing that killed 25-year-old Anthony Freas. The murder conviction included an enhancement for using a weapon in the crime, according to a news release from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said Hernandez was estranged from his wife when she began dating Freas.
When Hernandez learned about his wife dating Freas, he became angry, according to the District Attorney’s Office. One night, Hernandez tried reaching his wife by phone, but she didn’t respond. She had fallen asleep with Freas at her apartment.
While she and Freas slept, Hernandez entered his wife’s apartment and went to her bedroom. Prosecutors said Hernandez then stabbed Freas multiple times as he slept, killing him. Hernandez then left the apartment.
About 2:15 p.m. Nov. 19, 2017, officers were called to the Regency Apartments in the 5900 block of Riza Avenue, just west of Stockton Boulevard near south Sacramento. Officers arrived and found the stabbing victim, later identified as Freas. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he later died.
The Sacramento Police Department identified Hernandez as the suspect in the deadly stabbing and released his photo and description in December 2017, asking the public to help find him.
Prosecutors said Hernandez had evaded police by leaving to Mexico, where he remained for about five years before authorities found him and took him into custody.
In July 2023, the Police Department announced that Hernandez had been extradited and returned to Sacramento County to face criminal charges in the stabbing.
