Santa Barbara County – On July 24th, 64-year-old Marilyn Pharis was assaulted inside her own home while she was sound asleep. Victor Aureliano Martinez, a 29-year-old undocumented citizen of Mexico on probation for no less than four prior convictions, engaged in what was described by Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover as “a violent struggle and sexual assault,” which ultimately sent her to Marian Medical Center with “severe injuries.”
Because Pharis—a satellite tracker working at Vandenberg Air Force Base—fought off Martinez with enough vigor to damage his face to the point that he could later be easily identified by detectives, he was arrested that afternoon—after breaking into yet another residence–and charged with attempted murder, sexual assault, and residential burglary.
Jose Villagomez
Then, some eight days later, on August 1st, Pharis suffered a coronary embolism while still recovering from her injuries and died in spite of the heroic efforts of the hospital medical teams caring for her.
It was four days after the attack upon Pharis, on July 28th, that Jose Villagomez was contacted by law enforcement and arrested on “unrelated charges.” While sitting in Santa Barbara County Jail, on August 4th, Villagomez was the identified as a cohort of Martinez and booked on suspicion of sexual assault and attempted murder. Now that Pharis has died while under medical care for her injuries, the Santa Barbara County Coroner’s Office review of the case may carry significant weight in the determination of the District Attorney’s Office, which indicated that they “could file murder charges against the men.”
Photos: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
