A Texas man has received his sentence for fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend’s stepfather while the victim was asleep, subsequently fleeing the scene and contacting emergency services.

Tomas Aguilar has been handed a 33-year prison term for the murder of 42-year-old Oscar Bedarte, as documented by Webb County court records. Aguilar entered a guilty plea last week.

At the age of 18, Aguilar broke into a residence located on the 2200 block of Iturbide Street in Laredo on March 30, 2022. Through an unlocked entry, he reportedly located a knife in the kitchen sink and used it to stab Bedarte as he slept, according to an affidavit cited by the Laredo Morning Times.

While being attacked, Bedarte awoke, prompting Aguilar to deliver another stab wound, the court document reveals. Following the assault, Aguilar fled and contacted authorities.

Police responded to the scene shortly after 1:30 a.m., discovering Bedarte in a pool of blood. He was declared deceased on-site.

Although Aguilar called 911, his initial telling of events was not an admission of guilt. Rather, he detailed a story that pointed to him acting in self-defense.

He said he went to an area park and met two men who invited him to a home, where another man was. Aguilar reportedly claimed that sometime after getting there, the man attacked him, trying to stab him in the chest before he managed to take control of the knife and stab the man multiple times.

Aguilar had cuts on his cheek and fingers as he delivered this account, authorities said.

Investigators were reportedly dubious about his story, telling Aguilar that the evidence found at the scene — such as a high concentration of blood found in the bedroom — did not track with the version of events he had just told. Aguilar’s story then changed, according to the affidavit, with him admitting “he knew the victim and stabbed him multiple times as he slept.”

He also reportedly explained his motive, saying he attacked Bedarte because he had “so much rage” over something Bedarte had done to his stepdaughter — Aguilar’s ex-girlfriend. He said he had wanted to kill the man for months but “did not have the guts” to do it before, the Laredo Morning Times reported.

It remains unclear what Aguilar believed Bedarte had done to his stepdaughter. Aguilar was arrested the day of the murder.

Bedarte’s obituary states that he left behind five children when he died. He was remembered as a man who “loved music, singing, dancing, and making people laugh.”

Aguilar will spend the next 33 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, records show.