Jeremy Vargas Sagastegui

Who was Jeremy Vargas Sagastegui?

Jeremy Vargas Sagastegui was convicted of three counts of aggravated first-degree murder for the drowning and beating of Kievan Sarbacher, 3, and the shooting deaths of his mother, Melissa Sarbacher, 21, and a second woman, Lisa Vera-Acevedo, 27.

The killings occurred on November 19, 1995, in a mobile home in rural Finley, Washington, located east of Kennewick, where Sagastegui had been baby-sitting Sarbacher's two children. The second child, a 1-year-old girl, was unharmed.

Sometime between the evening hours of November 18 and the early morning hours of November 19, at a residence in Finley, Jeremy Sagastegui sexually abused, beat, stabbed, and then drowned Kievan Sarbacher, a three-year-old boy who was in his care. Sagastegui then waited for Kievan's mother, Melissa Sarbacher, to return home. When she did so, he shot her and her friend, Lisa Vera-Acevedo, who had accompanied Sarbacher home.

The convicted triple murderer refused to fight his execution. His mother filed for a stay on his behalf but it was denied as Sagastegui was found competent, and therefore no third party, including his mother, could file on his behalf.