*NEWS RELEASE*

TWO TEEN GIRLS GUILTY OF MURDERING LAKE ELSINORE WOMAN SO THEY COULD STEAL HER CAR TO GO TO KNOTT'S BERRY FARM

MURRIETA - Two teen girls were convicted today, Aug. 3, 2009, of the 2007 murder of a Lake Elsinore woman during a carjacking so they could go to a Halloween-related event at Knott's Berry Farm.

Dayana Cordova, 18, of Lake Elsinore and Anna Alejandra Salinas, 17, of Perris were found guilty of the Oct. 17, 2007, murder of 20-year-old Angelina Arias as well as counts of carjacking, kidnapping and child endangerment.

The night of the murder, the two girls had been at a Lake Elsinore restaurant where the victim worked as a waitress. Arias kindly offered to give the girls a ride home before being shot twice by Salinas, pushed out of her Chrysler 300 and then left for dead as the girls drove off with the victim's baby still in the car. The baby was later found safe on the porch of a home in Perris.

The gun used to kill the victim belonged to Cordova's father and was loaded by Cordova before she took it from the house. The stolen car, which Salinas was driving, was later stopped by a Riverside County sheriff's sergeant in Perris.

The two-jury trial was held in front of Judge F. Paul Dickerson in Dept. S304 at the Southwest Justice Center, 30755-D Auld Road, Murrieta. Both juries deliberated about a day before returning their verdicts.

The case, SWF023165, was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Daniel DeLimon.

"Angelina Arias and her young daughter deserve justice and the 30 members of our community who served as trial jurors and returned guilty verdicts on all counts have delivered it," DeLimon said. "These verdicts reflect that the crimes committed against both victims by both defendants for such trivial reasons are unforgivable."

The defendants are scheduled to return to court on Sept. 11, 2009, to be sentenced. Both face life sentences.