A 50-year-old Alaska father, convicted of fatally stabbing his daughter and her dog, has been sentenced to 60 years in prison after claiming he believed she was possessed by the devil. Armando Velador-Padilla was found guilty of the 2021 murder of his daughter, Darla Velador, 22, along with one count of animal cruelty.
Prosecutors said the brutal killing was driven by delusions and hallucinations, which led him to believe that he needed to “kill the devil” inside his daughter. According to court documents, on April 23, 2021, Velador-Padilla experienced active delusions and auditory hallucinations, prompting him to repeatedly stab his daughter and her dog.
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Officials stated that he had been hearing voices instructing him to carry out the attack. Following the gruesome crime, Velador-Padilla was indicted by an Anchorage grand jury within days. Later diagnosed with schizophrenia, he was deemed competent to stand trial and pleaded guilty to the charges.
Despite his mental illness, the court ruled that he posed an ongoing danger to the community, particularly given his history of noncompliance with medical treatment, even while in custody. Prosecutors emphasized that his mental illness was resistant to medication, making him a continued threat.
Darla Velador, described as “one of a kind” in her obituary, was a young mother, artist, and music lover who had a passion for helping others. “She had a love of art, music, animals, and was a humanitarian,” the obituary stated. “Cooking, entertaining, singing, and writing music, comedy, her son, her boyfriend Seth Masterson, and her rescue dog Max were some of her favorite things.”
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Tragically, Darla and her dog Max were both killed in the attack. Adam Mokelke, a former principal at Burchell High School, where Darla graduated in 2016, recalled her resilience as a young mother and her positive energy. “One of my first thoughts went to her son,” Mokelke told Anchorage NBC affiliate KTUU.
“She was just such a magnetic and positive personality. She was loved, and she’s gonna be missed. This is just horrible.” Velador-Padilla’s sentencing brings some closure to the horrific case, but Darla’s death continues to leave a lasting impact on her family, friends, and community. Her memory lives on through those who loved her and the young son she left behind. A GoFundMe page raising funds for funeral expenses for Velador and her dog, Max, had raised more than $5,500 by Monday afternoon.
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