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Inset: Santiago Payano-Sanchez (Lancaster County District Attorney”s Office). Background: The apartment complex where Santiago Payano-Sanchez shot and killed his wife and her aunt in West Hempfield Township, Pa. (Google Maps).
A Pennsylvania resident faces a lifetime incarceration for fatally shooting his estranged wife and a 74-year-old relative during a dispute over dinner preparations.
Last Friday, Santiago Payano-Sanchez, aged 64, admitted guilt to two charges of criminal homicide along with charges of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, child endangerment, and possession of a weapon, as detailed in a statement from the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office.
Consequently, Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Conrad handed down two consecutive life sentences without parole to the accused. Additionally, a supplementary prison term of 20 to 40 years was imposed.
This extensive punishment is the result of the tragic deaths of 59-year-old Ana Gutierrez-Cedano and her aunt, 74-year-old Dominga Cedano-Cedano, alongside the injury sustained by Payano-Sanchez’s 33-year-old son, who survived a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
The tragic event unfolded on the evening of October 5, 2025, at the family’s residence on Oak Hollow Drive in West Hempfield Township, a quaint community roughly 90 miles west of Philadelphia.
During the sentencing hearing, Assistant District Attorney Jessica Collo said the shooting unfolded after a “senseless” argument over who would make dinner escalated into a “heinous crime.” At some point in the argument, Payano-Sanchez decided to end the dispute by getting a gun and shooting his wheelchair-bound wife.
Despite the outsized reaction, the violence continued as Payano-Sanchez shot his son – who tried to wrestle the gun away from his father. The since-condemned man then stalked upstairs and shot his wife’s aunt to death. The younger victim still has bullet fragments in his body to this day, the prosecutor added.
When responding to the 911 call, West Hempfield Township Police were prepared to deal with a gunman who had barricaded himself inside the residence. But, ultimately, the defendant surrendered.
A 2-year-old and 7-year-old were also in the residence at the time but were unharmed, authorities noted. By the time first responders arrived, both women were pronounced dead at the scene of the crime.
The defendant himself addressed the court and said he was not able to explain why the argument escalated in the way it did. He went on to beg his family for forgiveness and wished them peace.
“I need to face what the law is imposing on me,” he allocuted.
The prosecutor read aloud from a letter penned by the older woman’s daughter. The grieving family member said her mother’s death “has left a void that can never be filled” and that their family “will carry this trauma for the rest of our lives.”
The younger woman’s daughter also addressed the court through a letter read aloud. She said the incident resulted in “permanent loss, pain and grief,” as well as PTSD and difficulty sleeping.
In addition to his lifetime in prison, Payano-Sanchez was ordered to pay more than $11,000 in restitution to the victims. The court also ruled he can never have contact with the victims’ families ever again.