A man from California has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for the fatal shooting of his children’s mother and the injury of her then-boyfriend, driven by jealousy in a violent incident that occurred several years ago.

Antonio Saldana Jr., aged 41, reached a plea agreement with the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office in October.

On Thursday, following his official guilty plea, Fresno County Superior Court Judge William Terrence sentenced him to 18 years to life in the California Department of Corrections.

The tragic event took place in September 2021 when Saldana fatally shot his estranged wife, 33-year-old Lisa Saldana, in the backyard of their Clovis home, a suburb of Fresno. Although Saldana’s involvement in the shooting was clear, the defense contended over the events leading up to the incident, as detailed in a courtroom report by Fresno’s ABC affiliate KFSN.

During that night, the couple’s five children were present at the home. Initially, Saldana faced five charges of child abuse and endangerment, but these were ultimately dropped due to issues with the evidence.

During the sentencing hearing, Antonio Saldana accepted his fate in a slumped-over stance while one of his feet shook, according to KFSN. And all the while, he was upbraided by various individuals.

“Our community lost a very good mother, a very good daughter, they lost a medical professional,” the judge said. “Our community lost a friend.”

Criticism ran deeper when the defendant’s daughter spoke up.

“You took away the only good parent your children had,” the 18-year-old said. “Every single one of his children hates him. Every single one of us finds you and your actions unforgivable and disgusting. He’s a shell of a man and a horrible excuse for a human being. No one who loves their children takes away their mother’s life.”

The since-condemned man’s daughter continued on to say: “I hope that you all hear and recognize how much sadness and pain this man has caused my family. We all miss my mom, and nothing can bring her back.”

After contesting his charges for years, and days away from the beginning of his jury trial, Antonio Saldana agreed to plead guilty to one count each of murder and attempted murder.

And, though the child abuse charges were dropped, the court took the proximity of the children into account when issuing the sentence.

“This court does note that this is a case of domestic violence,” Terrence said, according to a courtroom report by Fresno-based NBC affiliate KSEE. “This is a case where all five children were present at the house when this incident took place.”

In addition to his time in state prison, Antonio Saldana is barred from seeing any of his children for at least the next three years.

And, while the sentence was agreed upon, some members of the victim’s family wanted the court to deviate from the agreement.

“I ran into the house, although I was not supposed to, and I saw my daughter. She was already dead, lying on the floor,” Lisa Saldana’s mother said. “Please, I implore you. Give him more time.”

A GoFundMe for the victim’s children – started by one of the children themselves – is still active and accepting donations.