Found Deceased CA - Damiean 'Luke' Gulley, 14, Visalia, 18 Nov 2013 *Arrest*

The FBI has been called to partner with the Visalia Police Department on investigating the case. Sgt. Ozzie Dominguez would not confirm if foul play is suspected at this time.

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Thinkerbell said:

This is just awful. I don't feel this boy would have ran off on his own, having such habitual nature. There is always the possibility he was coerced in to running away, but feel if that was the case he wouldn't have left behind items he uses in his daily routine. I don't understand why LE wouldn't be treating this case a bit differently than they seem to be. JMO

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Detectives said during a police interview Miguel Villegas admitted that during a physical fight with his 14-year-old autistic stepson he grabbed an electrical cord and strangled him to death...

That night after his wife and two children were asleep, Villegas told Nelson that he wrapped up Damiean Gulley, drove to Sequoia National Park, and dumped his body near Ash Mountain.

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Miguel Villegas Pacheco, the stepfather of the late Damiean "Luke" Gulley, stood quietly in court Thursday while his lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Roland Soltesz, agreed to begin the trial Jan. 20, 2015.

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Each night before putting his two younger siblings to bed, Dameian “Luke” Gulley would tell them, “Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite”.

He would quickly add, “Just kidding!” worried they might actually be afraid of bedbugs.

“That was his heart,” said his mother Andrea Villegas, fighting tears. She clings to those memories of her son, who died in 2013 at the hands of his stepfather.

On Wednesday afternoon, Villegas watched her estranged husband, Miguel Villegas Pacheco, sit nearly motionless in a Tulare County courtroom. His left hand to his forehead as a jury foreman read a verdict for first-degree murder, a verdict that could land the man behind bars for the rest of his life.

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Before sentencing him, Presiding Judge Gary Paden told Miguel Pacheco that he is a bad man, who deserves to go to prison for the rest of his life. He said Pacheco has blamed everyone but himself, including his lawyer, for the position he's in.

Judge Paden said it was evident that Pacheco tried to control Luke, but couldn't, so killed him. Family members said the 35-year-old wanted Luke out of the picture, after he and Luke's mother Andrea had two children of their own.

"It's a huge relief to me, that he's been found guilty, and not only that, (but) the amount of time he's been given, keeps my little ones safe," said Luke's mother Andrea Villegas, who has two other children.

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