Man Sentenced for Killing his Wife

(SALEM, Ore) — Yesterday, Gustavo Villanueva (DOB 10/12/1970) was sentenced on the charge of Manslaughter in the First Degree for his participation in the death of his wife, Maribel Gutierrez-Salinas (DOB 2/8/1974). The Honorable Dale W. Penn sentenced Gustavo Villanueva to a term of 180 months in the Department of Corrections followed by a term of Post Prison Supervision (20 years minus time served). Villanueva pled guilty to the charge on January 6, 2015 before the Honorable Jamese L. Rhoades.

The case stemmed from the February 14, 2011 disappearance of Ms. Gutierrez-Salinas. On September 1, 2012, a hunter found human remains in a rural area near Gates, Oregon. Through the persistence of Ms. Gutierrez-Salinas' family, the Marion County Sheriff's Office and it's Cold Case Squad, the Tualatin Police Department and Keizer Police Department, those remains were positively identified as Maribel Gutierrez-Salinas. The Medical Examiner determined the cause of death was "homicidal violence of undetermined type."

An investigation into the circumstances of Ms. Gutierrez-Salinas' disappearance revealed that she was last seen alive when her husband, Villanueva, picked her up from work at the Agave Grill in Tigard, Oregon on the night of February 14, 2011. Villanueva's behavior following Ms. Gutierrez-Salinas' disappearance was suspicious and included a variety of inconsistent explanations for her disappearance. Marion County Sheriff's detectives discovered that Villanueva was in the Gates area two days after Ms. Gutierrez-Salinas went missing. Ms. Gutierrez-Salinas' personal identification and other significant items were later found in Villanueva's possession. Villanueva maintained that he had no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding his wife's death, except at one point when he told police that it was an accident.

On August 26, 2013, Villanueva was arrested by the Laredo Police Department, in Texas, and extradited to Oregon where he has remained in custody pending trial. On January 6, 2015, Villanueva pled guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree for his participation in causing the death of Ms. Gutierrez-Salinas. In imposing Villanueva's sentence today, The Honorable Dale W. Penn ordered that Villanueva will not be entitled to programming, including earned good time.

The Marion County District Attorney's office thanks the agencies that partnered in the investigation and Villanueva's apprehension. Those agencies include the Marion County Sheriff's Office, Marion County and State of Oregon Medical Examiners, Tualatin Police Department, Keizer Police Department and Laredo Police Department.