SALINAS — Salinas man Florencio Anselmo has been found guilty for the 2014 murder of his estranged girlfriend, Maria Ceja. He faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On July 4, 2014, the mother of six went dancing with her friends at Mariano’s Nightclub on East Market Street in Salinas. Anselmo went looking for her there.
When he insisted on continuing to dance with her and she refused, he became upset and had to be escorted off the premises by security. After failing to gain re-entry, he took a cab to her apartment complex and waited for her there, all the while making threatening phone calls to her.
Once there, he hid in her unlocked van and waited for her to come home, at which point he jumped out of the van, approached her car, and stabbed her twice in the chest as she sat in the driver’s seat. He then fled the scene.
Maria’s 12-year-old daughter was the first to find her, having heard her mother’s screams. Her 17-year-old son attempted to stop the bleeding and called 9-1-1, but the wounds had perforated her heart. She was pronounced dead shortly after the incident.
Anselmo was contacted by police interviewed the following day, during which he confessed and afterward was promptly arrested.
During his trial, Anselmo claimed to be suffering from PTSD. He is due to be sentenced on July 28th.
