Man charged with killing estranged wife in San Jose while facing stalking charge

SAN JOSE — A man ordered to wear an ankle monitor after being charged with stalking his estranged wife earlier this year is now facing a murder charge after allegedly defying a no-contact order and stabbing her to death last week in her North San Jose apartment.

Pablo Andres Aguilera Mora, 46, is being held in the Santa Clara County Main Jail for criminal charges including murder, assault with a deadly weapon, dissuading a witness and contempt of court, according to court records.

He was arraigned Wednesday and did not enter a plea, and was ordered to return to court Aug. 25.

San Jose police were called around 11:45 p.m. June 11 to a luxury apartment complex in the 80 block of Descanso Drive, off North First Street, after a man called 911 to report that his female roommate had been stabbed by another man.

Officers arrived to find a woman suffering from multiple stab wounds and Aguilera Mora with a stab wound on his chest, according to a probable cause affidavit accompanying the murder charge.

Both people were taken to the hospital, where the woman died from her injuries about 90 minutes later. She has been identified by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office as Maria Liliana Vanegas Parra, 45, of San Jose.

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Police later determined that Aguilera Mora’s wound was self-inflicted.

The roommate reportedly told homicide detectives that he was in his bedroom when he heard Vanegas Parra yell and ask him to call the police. That prompted him to leave his room, and he saw that the bedroom door was locked.

The roommate said he forced his way into the room, and was met by Aguilera Mora pointing a knife at him and telling him to leave, according to the affidavit. The roommate exited his apartment and called for help.

Detectives soon learned that Aguilera Mora had been charged March 20 with misdemeanor stalking involving the victim. Court documents indicate that they had been separated for about two months after being married for 10 years when Vanegas Parra discovered that he had attached a GPS device to her car to find out where she lived.

She also reported that he had slashed her car tires, gone to her apartment complex to yell at her, traveled to her workplace to inquire about getting a job there, and tried to see her at her church. The affidavit also stated that Aguilera Mora sent her over 100 text and voice messages and later placed two more GPS devices on her car.

Vanegas Parra secured an emergency protective order. After he was charged with stalking, Aguilera Mora was given supervised release, where he was ordered to wear an ankle monitor and was issued a no-contact order requiring him to stay 300 yards away from the victim as well as her home and workplace.

The stabbing marked the city’s 11th homicide of the year investigated by San Jose police, and the third of the year to involve a domestic-violence related killing, a total that has since risen to four. A Washington Post report published earlier this month found that domestic violence killings accounted for roughly 20% of homicides nationally in 2025, up from about 15% in 2020, a notable exception to a decline of nearly 50% in the national homicide rate over the same period.

Anyone with information for investigators can call the SJPD Homicide Unit at 408-277-5283, or email Detective Sgt. Ivan Barragan at [email protected] or Detective Mike Harrington at [email protected]. Tips can also be left with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at siliconvalleycrimestoppers.org.