Defendant pleads guilty to estranged girlfriend's killing
Victim disappeared following birthday celebration.
EPHRATA — A former Moses Lake man accused of killing his estanged girlfriend on the night of her 30th birthday in 2022 has pled guilty in Grant County Superior Court to second-degree murder with a sexual motivation.
On Tuesday, Judge Anna Gigliotti accepted Juan Ismael Gastelum’s guilty plea and scheduled a March 30 status hearing to consider a sentencing date.
Gastelum’s plea came exactly four years after Yanira C. Cedillos was last seen outside of Papa’s Casino in Moses Lake, where she had been celebrating with friends. Her body was found on May 12, 2022 in a remote part of Walla Walla County.
Moses Lake police said information from Gastelum’s phone helped guide investigators to the location. On the evening she disappeared, the defendant had called or texted Cedillos several times, saying he was driving from his home in Hermiston, Oregon to surprise her on her birthday. Cedillos did not show up for work the next day or pick up her three children from her mother, who had been babysitting them.
Moses Lake police were assisted in the investigation by the FBI and Oregon authorities, who took Gastelum into custody prior to his extradition to Grant County, where he has remained jailed pending a trial scheduled May 13.
When initially questioned, Gastelum admitted to police that he had gone with Cedillos to her apartment on the night of her disappearance, but claimed she was still alive when he left early the next morning following an argument.
Police said about a dozen photos taken between midnight and 4 a.m. were found on Gastelum’s phone showing the couple naked in the apartment. During that time, Cedillos appeared injured and unconscious while Gastelum engaged in a series of sex acts, authorities alleged.
With his guilty plea to second-degree murder, Gastelum, 31, faces a standard range of 123 to 220 months in prison, plus an additional 24 months with the sexual motivation component.
Grant County prosecutor Brandon Guernsey is recommending a high-end prison term totaling 244 months, or 20.3 years, according to court documents. During Tuesday’s hearing, Guernsey told the court that Cedillos’ family had been informed of the resolution of the case
