Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

President Trump Cites Santa Barbara County Murder As He Tries To Make Case For Border Wall

Kevin Dietsch/Pool
/
Getty Images
President Trump delivers his first prime-time address from the Oval Office on Tuesday.

In his nationally televised speech calling for support for his five billion dollar border wall plan, President Trump cited a brutal Santa Barbara County murder involving a man in the country illegally as one of the reasons he feels tightening the border is needed.

The President mentioned several high profile crimes in an effort to make his case.

One of them was the 2015 murder of Marilyn Pharis of Santa Maria. Prosecutors say Victor Martinez and Jose Villagomez entered her home while she was sleeping. Pharis woke up, and tried to fight back as Martinez sexually assaulted her, and attacked her with a hammer.

She died a few days later as a result of her injuries. Martinez was in the country illegally, which was apparently why the President cited the case during his Tuesday night speech.

Last year, the killer was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
Related Stories