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A California man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for brutally blinding and killing his aunt over a dispute about a clogged toilet.
Christopher Kaulaity, a 29-year-old man from Bakersfield, likened the December 2024 murder of 45-year-old Maria Carmen Torrez to carving her like “Play-Doh figures,” according to court records that were reviewed by LawandCrime.com .
Kern County Superior Court Judge Chad A. Louie ordered Kaulaity to serve the maximum sentence in a state correctional facility after a jury last month found him guilty of first-degree murder.
Louie also added one year to the sentence for a weapon enhancement, which means Kaulaity must serve at least 26 years before parole eligibility.
“Kaulaity’s murder of his aunt was a tragic act against a woman who should have been safe inside her home,” Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer said following his conviction.
The defendant and his aunt co-resided in a multigenerational home where they lived with seven other adult family members, according to a news release from the Kern County District Attorney’s Office .
Household tensions reached a boiling point the day before the murder when a “family argument” erupted “over issues with the single toilet in the residence clogging.”
Man warned to get along with aunt or be thrown out
Bakersfield CBS affiliate KBAK reported Kaulaity, who reportedly called 911 after the murder to say he had killed his aunt, was warned by multiple family members he needed to resolve issues with her or be forced to leave her home.
“On December 7, 2024, the victim was on her way to the bathroom and while passing Kaulaity in the hallway, she insulted him,” prosecutors wrote in the release.
“While the victim was in the bathroom, Kaulaity went to his bedroom where he retrieved pepper spray and a knife. Kaulaity then kicked open the bathroom door, pepper sprayed his aunt ‘to blind her,’ and then stabbed her repeatedly in her back and neck.”
The defendant told investigators he “went to town” stabbing Torrez seven times in the neck and back with a long construction blade.
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Kaulaity creepily said he killed her “butcher style,” comparing himself to “Norman Bates,” and saying the attack “reminded me of when I was a kid again” because he used to “carve these Play-Doh figures and use sticks to impale them.”
His defence argued at the trial that Kaulaity had severe mental health disorders that led to hallucinations and triggered a temporary blackout during the killing.
But the jury rejected the insanity claim after a forensic psychologist testified the defendant knew his actions were wrong.
Kaulaity showed no remorse during his sentencing and reportedly stood up and shouted at Torrez’s sister, “I hope you rot in hell with your sister, b—,” according to local NBC affiliate KGET .
“I hate you guys,” the sister reportedly responded, referring to Kaulaity and the family members who were there to support him.