Phoenix man sentenced to 58 years in prison for 2020 double-murder

PHOENIX — A Phoenix man who killed his wife and their roommate three years ago was sentenced to 58 years in prison on Monday, authorities said.

Estevanico Palmares, 40, was found guilty on two counts of second-degree murder and one count of prohibited weapons possession earlier this year, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

Palmares fatally shot his wife and a man who was living with them near 48th Street and Interstate 10 on May 18, 2020.

Officers responded to the area around 3:15 p.m. to do a welfare check after a caller reported hearing gunshots. Palmares was taken into custody in the vicinity of the crime scene.

Palmares couldn’t legally possess a gun because of a previous felony conviction.

The gun used in the killings had been purchased by his wife two days before the double-murder, according to MCAO.

“This case is an example of the harm that comes to a family and a community when a prohibited possessor with a violent history gains access to a firearm,” County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a press release. “This person will serve the maximum prison sentence, so he is unable to hurt someone else.”

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