PHOENIX — A man has pleaded guilty to the violent murder of his girlfriend that was caught on camera off the Loop 101 freeway in Peoria.
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Fernando Acosta, 32, pleaded guilty this week to first-degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault and drug possession for offenses reported on March 22, 2019, court records show.
Court paperwork filed at the time of Acosta’s arrest states the defendant crashed off the side of the road near the Thunderbird Road off-ramp and began stabbing 33-year-old Martha Thy.
Bystanders attempted to intervene as Acosta continued stabbing his girlfriend. One bystander fired multiple shots toward the assailant and a witness captured most of the brutal attack on cellphone video.
The victim would succumb to her stab wounds. She was a mother to three kids.
More than seven years after Thy’s death, the defendant agreed to plead guilty to multiple felony counts.
Acosta is scheduled to be sentenced on July 13.
Author’s Note: The above video is from a previous newscast.
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