Jury selection starts in trial for
alleged murderer of Ashley Calanche

January 07, 2015
Santa Paula News

Jury selection started Monday in the trial of an area woman accused of gunning down a young mother who was an aspiring photographer in a local park in 2013.

Court hearings started in September for Yajaira Lizette Dominguez, 32, accused of shooting and killing 21-year-old Ashley Calanche after she confronted the younger woman at Mill Park a year before.

Calanche was killed at about 1 p.m. on September 27, 2013 just blocks from her home. An aspiring photographer who had started studies at Brooks Institute, Calanche was unable to attend school that day and was taking photographs with her sister at the popular park in the 700 block of North Ojai Road, when she was confronted by Dominguez.

Santa Paula Police arrested Dominguez later that day at her mother’s home where Dominguez at first refused to come out and reportedly threatened to commit suicide.

There had been wrangling in court over whether Dominguez’s history of violence would be permitted: in August Prosecutor Rebecca Day filed a motion that outlined incidents that occurred before Calanche’s death.

Dominguez allegedly threatened to shoot two individuals, a woman on June 21, 2012 and a man the same day Calanche was murdered, and at other times stabbed or attempted to stab three others.

Leading up to the start of jury selection Day said Calanche did not know her killer: “They had never met but had a previous exchange on Facebook... it was a Facebook message that started the whole thing,” that was related to a friend of Dominguez’s.

The shooting occurred because Dominguez, according to Day, wanted to vindicate her friend. 

Dominguez is facing a murder charge with a special enhancement of intentionally discharging a firearm when she allegedly shot Calanche after the confrontation at Mill Park.

Calanche, whose family is well known in the area, had a young child and Dominguez, who has remained in jail since her arrest on bail of $1.2 million, is also a mother.





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