Utah teen offers few explanations for murdering his high school girlfriend

JUNCTION, Utah (KSL.com) — A judge repeatedly asked a teenager why he killed his girlfriend before sentencing him to a term of 25 years to life in prison on Monday.

The judge said an answer to the question is “the least (he) could do” for the family members of the victim who audibly sobbed while talking about the loss of their daughter, sister and friend, minutes before.

“There’s no justification for what I did. I acted impulsively, irrationally, out of anger, and I regret it every day of my life,” Francisco Daniel Aguilar, who turned 18 on Friday, responded.

Judge Marvin Bagley questioned Aguilar’s claim he was acting impulsively, and reminded Aguilar that he had taken a gun from his father’s bedroom and gotten bullets before going to a remote area with his girlfriend. Aguilar said he didn’t intend to use the weapon except to scare his girlfriend, but the judge said, “That doesn’t make any sense at all.”

When asked again, Aguilar said, “I acted stupidly and out of anger,” and the judge responded, “Is that the best you’re going to do?”

Aguilar pleaded guilty on June 12 to aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, admitting to shooting and killing his girlfriend, 16-year-old Jacqueline “Jacky” Nunez-Millan, a Piute High School sophomore on Jan. 8. He said he takes full responsibility, and will serve his sentence without making any problems.

Defense attorney Dale Sessions and Piute County Attorney Scott Burns both recommended the sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

Burns said the crime devastated the community, including every small town along U.S. 89 in Piute County. He said things like this murder happen in large cities, but not in rural Piute County. He cited testimony from the sheriff who responded to the scene and said he saw his daughter in Jacky’s place.

“A lot of us saw our daughter, lying in the road,” Burns said.

‘Unforgivable and pure evil’

Two sisters, their mother and a friend of the young woman talked about the “life sentence” they have been given since Jacky was taken away from them.

“I didn’t choose the suffering I was given, this person choose it for me, for my daughter and for my family,” Rosa Nunez said.

The victim’s sister said her 9-year-old daughter was best friends with her aunt Jacky.

“She was a child, who enjoyed life and always seemed to find the good in people, even those who may not deserve it,” she said.

Nunez said Aguilar is “unforgivable and pure evil,” and that he should be in prison “for the rest of eternity.”

Jacky’s mother, Irma Nunez, said her daughter did not deserve what happened to her, as Rosa Nunez translated from Spanish to English.

“We are currently dead while we walk alive, especially me. There’s not one day that goes by where I stop thinking about my princess,” she said.

Mayuni Nunez said that without her sister, the family “will forever have a missing piece.” While the family used to attend Jacky’s sporting events, their outings now consist of visits to the cemetery.

Friend witnessed murder

According to evidence presented in the preliminary hearing, Aguilar and his girlfriend had been arguing and “trying to make each other angry” when Aguilar took ammunition and a 9mm gun from his father’s room and then drove to the Black Hill area in his truck with Jacky.

McKall Taylor went looking for her friend Jacky on the day she was killed. Jacky saw her and ran to her car while Aguilar was shooting at her. Taylor drove away after Jacky fell to the ground and multiple bullets hit her car, according to her testimony at the preliminary hearing. On Monday, Taylor’s mother read a statement in court, saying her daughter was too emotional to read it. She said her daughter is forced to remember that horrifying night, and lives with guilt.

“I deserve justice, I deserve some relief,” she said.

After Taylor left, Aguilar walked toward Jacky and shot her again, charging documents state. An autopsy showed Jacky was hit in her right leg and in the head.

The judge told Taylor not to second guess any of her actions from that day, and said Aguilar is 100% at fault.

“If you had done anything different you wouldn’t be here today,” Bagley said.

He also encouraged the family to move forward and be the best people they can be, saying that is the best revenge they can have.