U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer against a man accused of killing an infant, his mother, and his grandmother.
Joaquin Escoto Vasquez was arrested Thursday for stabbing his girlfriend, the child they share, and his girlfriend's mother. Escoto is a previously deported illegal alien who already has four arrests for driving under the influence.
According to a press release from the Modesto Police Department, officers responded to calls of a disturbance at a residence just after 9:20 a.m. Thursday morning. They discovered a 23-year-old female, a 54-year-old female, and an infant child, all of whom had sustained multiple stab wounds. Both women were pronounced dead at the scene. The infant was taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Another child, age 4, was also located and taken to a hospital for evaluation.
The incident prompted a massive police response, including SWAT and Hostage Negotiation Teams and the Investigations Division, on suspicion that the suspect was still in the area. Local schools were closed and students relocated to another school where reunification efforts could be safely conducted. Detectives eventually determined that it was an isolated incident and the suspect posed no further threat to the public.
Upon further investigation, police identified the victims as 23-year-old Fabiola Gonzalez-Nunez and her mother, 54-year-old Maria Sylvia Nunez-Villalobos. Gonzalez-Nunez was the mother of the two-week-old child. The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Vasquez, was in a relationship with Gonzalez-Nunez and lived in the house with the three victims. He was also the father of the uninjured child, who has since been taken into custody by Child Protective Services.
Vasquez was found hiding in a nearby residence and was arrested by police. He was booked into the Stanislaus County Jail on three counts of murder, special circumstance enhancements, using a deadly weapon, and an outstanding Modesto Police Department warrant related to a prior DUI case.
According to a press release from the Department of Homeland Security Monday, Vasquez is an illegal alien from Mexico who crossed the border into California in 2018. He was deported by the first Trump administration, but re-entered the country at an unknown date.
DHS said he has four prior arrests for driving under the influence. ICE had previously lodged a detainer against Vasquez with the San Joaquin County Jail in June 2025 after his most recent arrest. But local officials refused to comply and released him without giving ICE notice. They placed another detainer against him for the three killings on Monday.
“This monster’s heinous crime could have been prevented if sanctuary politicians in California simply cooperated with ICE law enforcement. This criminal illegal alien from Mexico is now charged with homicide and cruelty toward child after the fatal stabbings of a baby, the baby’s mother, and the baby’s grandmother,” Acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “ICE had placed a detainer on him after he was arrested for driving under the influence of liquor in 2025, but California sanctuary politicians chose to RELEASE him instead of turning him over to ICE. Governor Gavin Newsom and his fellow sanctuary politicians must stop putting lives at risk by RELEASING criminals from jails into California communities to create more victims.”