Man pleads guilty to murdering wife, girl in Post Falls

Angel Albertico Morales-Larranaga will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing his wife and stepdaughter in Post Falls in 2014.

As part of a plea agreement Wednesday, Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney Barry McHugh agreed to withdraw his intent to seek the death penalty.

The agreement calls for Morales-Larranaga, 26, to plead guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and serve two consecutive life sentences in prison with no chance of parole. He also waived his right to appeal the conviction and sentence.

“We worked with law enforcement and the victim’s family to come to a resolution,” McHugh said.

Morales-Larranaga, an immigrant from Mexico who is living in the country illegally, will be sentenced 10 a.m. Jan. 26 before 1st District Judge Fred Gibler.

He admitted to strangling Facunda Velenzuelaleon, 24, and Dyanna M. Valencia, 6, inside a Post Falls apartment on July 8, 2014.

“I am saddened at the complete loss of life in this case,” Kootenai County Public Defender John Adams said Wednesday. “Angel’s wife, Facunda, and his daughter, Dyanna, are dead, and now he will spend the rest of his young life in prison. Angel is as remorseful as a man could be and will forever regret his unplanned and uncontrolled actions.”

Investigative records in the court file say Morales-Larranaga may have been distraught over his wife’s infidelity, and he had self-inflicted cuts on his wrists when taken into custody.

Morales-Larranaga told a friend he strangled his wife first, then killed his stepdaughter after “she got up and started hitting me,” investigators said. Police stopped his vehicle and arrested him later that day after the friend called police.

The killings took place early in the morning in an apartment at Tullamore Commons at 4172 E. Laurelbrook Drive. Morales-Larranaga took his own two daughters, then ages 1 and 3, to a friend’s house before he returned to the apartment to commit the crimes, court records show.