Southern California fitness influencer killed in ‘act of unimaginable violence'
The violence unfolded on June 22 in a strip mall parking lot in the 15200 block of Summit Avenue in Fontana just after 9:30 p.m.
Gloria Zamora, a 40-year-old fitness influencer and mother of seven, was on a date with her boyfriend, 43-year-old Hector Garduno, a father of four daughters himself, when the couple was fatally gunned down by Zamora's estranged husband, 45-year-old Thomas Albert Tamayo Lizarraga, Fontana Police told the Los Angeles Times.
Investigators said Lizarraga targeted Zamora's boyfriend first before turning the gun on her.
An unidentified SBSD deputy who heard the gunfire and rushed to the scene in his vehicle spotted the 45-year-old man running away. Bringing his vehicle to a stop in the street, the deputy confronted Lizarraga before fatally shooting him.
Zamora and Garduno were rushed to the hospital where they both succumbed to their injuries.
The deadly attack came just weeks after Zamora said on a multi-episode podcast that she planned to leave her husband, KTLA's Sandra Mitchell reported.
In a GoFundMe organized by her daughter Jazlynne Zamora, the 40-year-old fitness trainer and model, who had amassed nearly 160,000 followers on her Instagram account, was described as an inspirational beacon for other women, someone who reminded them of their strength and potential.
'Where the cholos in L.A.?' Official accused of inciting violence against feds
'My mom was senselessly taken from us. She was murdered by my stepdad Tomas, in an act of unimaginable violence,' Jazlynne wrote. 'She leaves behind 7 beautiful children, ages 8 to 24, who are now facing a future without our mother's warmth, guidance and unconditional love.'
In a GoFundMe organized by Yesenia Garduno, Hector Garduno was described as a devoted, loving and hardworking father who did everything he could for his family and four daughters.
'His passing has left a hole in our hearts and a void in our lives that can never be filled,' Yesenia said.
Investigators said the gun believed to have been used by Lizarraga was recovered at the scene and booked into evidence.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
3 minutes ago
- CBS News
Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announces new reelection bid for his old job
Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is looking to get his old job back after announcing his bid for reelection Tuesday evening. In a video posted on X, he launched his campaign while standing in front of a banner that read, "Alex Villanueva, Help is on the Way." "The rumors are true; I'm running again for sheriff of Los Angeles County," Villanueva said. "I've walked this path before and I'm returning with broader experience, more clarity and a deeper commitment to the people who deserve better." Villanueva previously served as sheriff from 2018 until 2022 and lost his first reelection campaign against current Sheriff Robert Luna, who will also be running for reelection. "Over the last several years, Los Angeles County has seen the consequences of failed leaders, not just in the Sheriff's Department but across our local government," Villanueva said. He added that he is ready to bring "proven leadership" back to the department. Speaking to a room of supporters, Villanueva claimed that "lawlessness has become the new normal." "We must rescue this department from paralyzing dysfunction, rebuild it back to full strength and restore our capacity to fight, solve and prevent crime," he said. During Villanueva's tenure as sheriff, the department faced multiple lawsuits from former employees alleging retaliation for whistleblowing. Under Villanueva's leadership, the department also faced several deadly deputy-involved shootings, some of which led to widespread protests across the LA area. He has also been previously investigated by the LA County District Attorney's Office for allegedly soliciting donations from his deputies. Palmdale Station Sheriff's Lieutenant Oscar Martinez has also announced his campaign for sheriff.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Expert warns Idaho murderer's plea deal strategy is a dangerous calculated 'long game'
The Menendez brothers, who gunned down their parents from behind in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989, were sentenced to life without parole years later. They were never supposed to see the light of day again. But under new California law – and in an increasingly left-wing state – that changed. A judge reduced their sentences and made them immediately eligible for parole after a controversial hearing this year, kickstarted by a prosecutor who failed his re-election bid largely because critics viewed him as too soft on crime. For one former investigator, that's a bad omen for the victims of Bryan Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student who killed four University of Idaho undergrads in a home invasion stabbing spree. BRYAN KOHBERGER PLEADS GUILTY TO IDAHO MURDERS "He's playing the long game in this plea deal," said Dr. Kris Mohandie, a forensic psychologist whose past work includes cases involving O.J. Simpson and the North Hollywood bank robbery shootout. "If you take death off the table, he's virtually got no skin in this game, meaning there's no downside for him." Kohberger agreed to a plea deal last week. He admitted to stabbing each student multiple times in a premeditated attack but did not explain himself. It saves taxpayer money and required Kohberger to forfeit his right to appeal his conviction and to move for a future sentence reduction. The end result could be a substantially stricter outcome than what a trial could have delivered. PLEA CAPS YEARSLONG QUEST FOR JUSTICE Not only are juries unpredictable – Kohberger would likely have spent decades appealing a conviction and death sentence – but Idaho also falls under the federal government's historically liberal Court of Appeals, the Ninth Circuit. While the parents of victims Ethan Chapin, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21, have publicly supported the plea deal, Kaylee Goncalves's family called the potential death penalty "merely an illusion" in a scathing statement voicing their opposition to any leniency or deal for Kohberger. The 20-year-old Xana Kernodle's family did not respond to messages seeking comment. Giving up his right to an appeal could also wind up being an illusion, years down the road, Mohandie warned. SIGN UP TO GET THE TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER "Look at all these high-profile cases that we've seen come up lately, after many years," he told Fox News Digital. "The long game is, we're not going to be able to appeal this case – but the truth is, there's always some reason to find down the road when laws change, case law changes, etc." Kohberger and his lawyers all know that, he said. He pointed to the Menendez brothers, the Manson family and Scott Peterson. "Convicted, sentenced to death, some of them, commuted, then they're up – begging for parole," he said. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES AT THE FOX NEWS TRUE CRIME HUB Victims get old and die. Public tempers cool off. For the Menendez brothers, the victims' relatives are also their own relatives. Only one uncle, Milton Andersen, remained publicly opposed to their release. He died just days before the judge reduced their sentences, at the age of 90. Kohberger, who pleaded guilty last week, is due in front of Judge Steven Hippler later this month for formal sentencing. On Nov. 13, 2022, the four victims were stabbed to death in a 4 a.m. massacre in an off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho. All but Kernodle may have been asleep at the start of the attack. FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X There is no known motive and rampant speculation about what happened. More than six weeks later, police announced the arrest of Kohberger – at his parents' home in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. He was 28 at the time and a student at Washington State University, 10 miles from the crime scene, where he was studying for a Ph.D. in criminology. At the bloody crime scene, police found one key piece of evidence – a forgotten knife sheath with Kohberger's DNA on the snap. While his background raised questions and red flags, the deal is not expected to provide any answers. "I think it's a big mistake not to insist that he come clean with what he did, because then, down the road, he could always say, 'I never admitted anything. It was just circumstantial. I was forced to do this,'" Mohandie said. Prosecutors could have demanded answers as part of the deal, but it's unclear whether Kohberger rejected an explanation or one hadn't been part of the negotiations. In response to left-wing sentencing reduction laws, other states have moved in the opposite direction. Tennessee passed a "truth in sentencing" law in 2022 to ensure that suspects face the penalties that state law prescribes for violent crimes – and so victims can find justice and peace without the threat of a surprise reversal down the road. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "Time will only be on his side," Mohandie said of Kohberger, who is expected to serve four consecutive life sentences, plus another 10 years. But prison carries other risks.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Matthew Perry ketamine doctor pleads guilty to distribution
Dr. Salvador Plasencia, one of Matthew Perry's ketamine providers, pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of distribution of the dissociative drug. Plasencia, 43, admitted to four counts of distribution of ketamine, a plea deal he agreed to last month. Standing before Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett in a Los Angeles federal court, Plasencia said his legal team had "considered everything" when it came to the plea and subsequent sentencing. Prosecutors agreed to drop three additional counts against Plasencia in exchange for his guilty plea. He had been scheduled to go on trial next month alongside Jasveen Sangha, aka "The Ketamine Queen." The "Friends" star died on Oct. 28, 2023, after an apparent drowning in the hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home, authorities confirmed to Fox News Digital at the time. He was 54. "Dr. Plasencia is profoundly remorseful for the treatment decisions he made while providing ketamine to Matthew Perry," his attorney, Karen Goldstein, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. "He is fully accepting responsibility by pleading guilty to drug distribution. Dr. Plasencia intends to voluntarily surrender his medical license, acknowledging his failure to protect Mr. Perry, a patient who was especially vulnerable due to addiction." She added, "While Dr. Plasencia was not treating Mr. Perry at the time of his death, he hopes his case serves as a warning to other medical professionals and leads to stricter oversight and clear protocols for the rapidly growing at-home ketamine industry in order to prevent future tragedies like this one." Rither Alabre, partner at Blank Rome's White Collar Defense & Investigations Group and former prosecutor, told Fox News Digital that Plasencia's plea is important for the case, and also sends a message. "The guilty plea by Dr. Plasencia is significant because he is the second doctor to plead guilty in relation to Mr. Perry's death, and the plea sends a strong message to drug dealers, as well as doctors and members of the medical community, that prosecutors are paying close attention and will vigorously prosecute these types of cases," Alabre said. Sentencing will be determined at a later date, but his charges may set the stage for prospective civil suits, according to entertainment and employment attorney Camron Dowlatshahi of MSD Lawyers. "Because the burden of proof is much higher in criminal cases versus civil cases – beyond a reasonable doubt vs. preponderance of evidence – having a criminal conviction in the bag makes it much easier to win a civil case," Dowlatshahi told Fox News Digital. "Typically, with a plea, the defendant will get much less prison time than the maximum, hence the agreement to plead guilty. Here, the maximum sentence is 40 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of at least $2 million. I would expect significantly less in all aspects. The punishment should be a warning to all physicians handling and distributing substances to do so with extreme care and humanity toward everyone, including those who are extremely wealthy and famous." Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, noted that Plasencia abused his position for financial gain, and caused a "gross violation of trust." "The punishment does fit the crime because Plasencia did not provide the fatal dose of ketamine that killed Perry," Rahmani said. "Perry's family could file a civil lawsuit, but they don't need the money, and even though Plasencia provided the supplies and training, that may not be enough to establish medical causation for a wrongful death case. Co-defendants Sangha, Fleming, and Iwamasa are more directly liable for Perry's death." Nearly nine months after Perry died, authorities announced that five people were arrested and charged with multiple counts in connection to his death. U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada said at one point that the defendants distributed approximately "20 vials for approximately $50,000 in cash" to Perry for Kenneth (Kenny) Iwamasa, Perry's live-in assistant, to distribute the drug to the actor. During another sale, the dealers "took advantage of Mr. Perry" by selling approximately "50 vials of ketamine for approximately $11,000 in cash." Plasencia, a ketamine source, was introduced to Perry by his assistant in September 2023. Plasencia, who obtained ketamine from Dr. Mark Chavez, allegedly taught the assistant how to inject Perry with the drug. Chavez previously ran a ketamine clinic and allegedly submitted a bogus prescription in the name of a former patient to secure the drug. Chavez agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine as part of his plea agreement. The San Diego-based doctor admitted to selling ketamine to Plasencia, including ketamine that he had diverted from his former ketamine clinic. Iwamasa pleaded guilty on Aug. 7 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, and, per Estrada, has already filed a plea agreement. Fleming pleaded guilty on Aug. 8 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Fleming admitted in court documents that he distributed the ketamine that killed Perry. He also agreed to a plea deal. While Plasencia is accused of supplying the bulk of Perry's ketamine in his final weeks, defendant Sangha, who prosecutors allege was a major ketamine dealer, is alleged to have provided the dose that killed the actor. In addition to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, Sangha is also charged with one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine and five counts of distribution of ketamine. She is also scheduled to go to trial in August. She has pleaded not guilty – making her the only one of the five people charged in Perry's death who has not entered a plea agreement.
