Crime & Safety
First-Degree Murder Conviction in Vanessa Pham Killing
Julio Blanco-Garcia sentenced in June 2010 stabbing of college student.
A Fairfax County jury convicted a man of first-degree murder Monday in the death of Vanessa Pham, 19.
The jury sentenced Julio Blanco-Garcia, 27, to 49 years in prison, according to The Washington Post. Formal sentencing will be Nov. 15.
The college student had agreed to give Blanco-Garcia and his baby daughter a ride at a Falls Church shopping center in June 2010.
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Soon after, police found Pham's body when responding to a car crash, but recognized quickly that her injuries were not due to the wreck. Pham was stabbed multiple times in the neck, chest and leg, according to autopsy reports.
Pham's death had been a mystery, but new DNA evidence led police to Blanco-Garcia. He was arrested in December 2012 at a construction site in Vienna where he worked.
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The defense had acknowledged Blanco-Garcia killed Pham, but argued it was a drug-induced panic that led to the attack.
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