When Anaheim law enforcement officials arrived at Aaron Romo’s door in March 2023, they knocked and introduced their presence. A safety guard had summoned them after seeing the musclebound Romo violently yank 24-year-old Mirelle Mateus, his on-and-off girlfriend, into his condominium. She’d been screaming for assist.
Mateus had an lively restraining order in opposition to Romo, who was dealing with a felony cost for throwing her over his patio railing 4 months earlier. The officers heard muffled voices contained in the condominium, however nobody answered. They quickly drove away, and Mateus was later discovered lifeless, battered and strangled, in Romo’s rest room.
Particulars of the La Palma girl’s final night time alive — and of the botched police response to her requires assist — emerged throughout Romo’s trial this month in Orange County Superior Courtroom, which culminated Wednesday together with his conviction for first-degree homicide.
On the night time of March 16, 2023, Romo — portrayed at trial as a hard-partying lothario who lifted weights and drank closely — went to an Orange County bar, the place he was slapped by a lady he insulted, thrown out by bouncers and pummeled in a melee.
He referred to as Mateus for a journey dwelling. Although a choose had ordered him to not contact her, he’d referred to as her 616 instances over the earlier month.
“Cease calling me and cease attempting to be in my life,” she had texted him. “I don’t need any half in yours. Determine your individual life … I’m completed serving to you on the expense of mine. Now be an grownup for as soon as in your life. No contact means no contact.”
However on the night time of the bar combat, she answered his name and arrived to choose him up. She drove him to his dwelling on the Edge Flats on Union Avenue, the place a safety guard, Rudy Ruelas, referred to as 911 to say that Mateus wanted assist.
Aaron Romo, proper, listens to Mark Birney, senior deputy district lawyer at Orange County District Lawyer’s Workplace ship opening statements throughout Romo’s homicide trial.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Instances)
Ruelas stated he noticed her standing on Romo’s patio and that Romo had pulled her violently inside his condominium.
“There’s a person beating up his girlfriend,” Ruelas informed a dispatcher. “She was screaming proper now for assist and now she’s quiet.” Seconds later, he stated, “She’s screaming once more …”
Two Anaheim law enforcement officials arrived inside minutes and introduced themselves outdoors Romo’s door. One of many officers, Rapheal Borjon, testified at trial that he put his ear to the wall and heard what he thought was muffled dialog inside. He stated they knocked for 5 minutes and acquired no reply.
“We didn’t hear any lively screaming,” Borjon testified. “We mentioned whether or not we had exigency” to enter the condominium forcibly. They determined they didn’t.
Borjon stated a second safety guard appeared and defined that he’d seen Mateus on the patio. Borjon stated he misunderstood this to imply that the guard had simply seen her there, unconstrained, which conveyed the impression that she was not in instant hazard.
“The officers didn’t consider it was an emergency,” prosecutor Mark Birney informed jurors at Romo’s trial. “And that’s unlucky.”
Birney stated there have been “an entire lot of issues we want had occurred” within the case, amongst them that police had kicked down Romo’s door.
Mateus’ household is suing Orange County and the Anaheim Police Division for negligence, claiming that officers ought to have recognized Romo had a previous arrest, and a restraining order, in connection along with her. In accordance with the lawsuit, the health worker decided that Romo didn’t kill her till half an hour after police left.
After strangling her, in response to trial testimony, Romo drove to the Temecula townhome of one other girl he had dated, Stephanie Rodriguez, who informed police that he confessed to the killing.
Protection lawyer Staycie Sena informed jurors that Romo didn’t consider he was able to the killing as a result of “he merely beloved Mirelle an excessive amount of.” She informed jurors that if, nevertheless, they concluded that Romo killed her, it was not with the premeditation required for first-degree homicide.
“It’s much more difficult,” Sena stated, suggesting that jurors ought to take into account “drunken rage, provoked by jealousy and compounded by a nasty head harm.” She stated Romo had been knocked unconscious within the bar combat hours earlier and was affected by prior head accidents.
Birney, the prosecutor, stated Mateus and Romo had “the outward look of a really enticing, joyful couple,” although in non-public Romo was possessive and violent, in step with a longtime sample.
Birney invoked a litany of ladies he alleged that Romo had crushed and terrorized. Romo had scared 5 of them sufficient that they took out restraining orders in opposition to him, Birney stated. Some spoke of being choked, punched and stalked.
Aaron Romo, proper, is escorted out of courtroom by an Orange County Sheriff’s deputy.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Instances)
“It’s who he’s,” Birney stated. “It’s not a concussion … He’s been abusing ladies for 15 years. We’re now going to say it was beacause of his bar combat?”
Romo, 37, ran a household automotive upholstery enterprise earlier than his arrest. Testifying in his personal protection, he stated he was massively drunk on the night time Mateus died and didn’t keep in mind her being at his condominium. He had “foggy mind” from the bar scuffle.
“We have been in love with one another,” he stated, describing their relationship as “an emotional curler coaster.”
He admitted that he had as soon as damaged Mateus’ telephone, jealous that she had talked to a different man. “We have been arguing and I used to be drunk and I broke her cellphone.”
The prosecutor confirmed him a photograph of Mateus, taken in late 2022, by which she has a black eye.
“I couldn’t inform you if I gave her that black eye,” Romo stated.
“Did she punch herself?” the prosecutor requested.
“I’d assume not.”
“That black eye is from you, isn’t that true, Mr. Romo?”
“I couldn’t inform you that.”
Romo, who faces 25 years to life in jail, will likely be sentenced on June 24 by Orange County Superior Courtroom Choose Gary Paer.
