‘They were stripped away from us’: Daughter’s heartbreaking words after mum and dad stabbed to death in their own home as killer gets life behind bars

A man has been jailed for 33 years for murder of his landlords, whom he stabbed to death in the hallway of the building they shared on April 1 2020 during the first lockdown of the pandemic. Daniel Briceno Garcia, 46, previously of Dorset Road, Lambeth, was convicted last Wednesday (May 18) at the Old Bailey of murdering Sonia Butron Calvi, 66, and Edgar Aguilera Daza, 60.

Today (May 27) Garcia received a life sentence at the same court for the murders and will serve a minimum 33 years in prison for his crimes. Speaking after the sentencing Sonia and Edgar’s daughter, Laura Aguilera, explained how the brutal attack had left her family “crushed and heartbroken.”

She said: “They were not only wonderful parents, grandparents and friends but also excellent church advisors and mentors. Many people at church looked up to them because they were a humble, caring and stable couple. Sonia’s warm reassurance and Edgar’s infectious humour would make everyone feel better in times of struggle and hurt.

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“This is why I find it so difficult to accept the way their life was taken in such a cruel way, how they were stripped away from us. The realisation that there will be no more interacting with them has emotionally depressed us as a family to the point where grief and pain overwhelm acceptance of their absence. It breaks our hearts to see innocent lives die unjustly.

“They leave behind a family who has suffered waves of painful solitude as a result of their absence which has immersed our family in a dark curtain of demoralising days for the past two years. The obvious nature of attempting to continue on with life with drive consistently fades as their parting overpowers our mental well-being on a regular basis.

“Seeing this man here with such calm and serenity, not realising the amount and extent of the damage he has done to the entire Bolivian community in London has left us crushed and heartbroken. My parents were also brothers/sisters, uncles, cousins, in laws and above all the sweetest grandparents; they had an enormous amount of love and affection for their grandchildren. It aches now that they can’t hold them, kiss them, care for them or to protect them.”

Police were first called to the building owned by the couple on Dorset Road, Lambeth, on April 1 2020 at around 4pm following reports of a disturbance. Police officers and paramedics attended where they were met at the door by Garcia, whose hands were covered in blood and told them he was ‘sorry’. Inside police found Sonia and Edgar both suffering from stab injuries. Despite efforts to save them they were pronounced dead at the scene.

Garcia, one of the couple’s tenants, shared the building with them and three other people who they also rented rooms to. These other residents told police how in the lead up to the attack Garcia had become ‘obsessed with Covid’ and was worrying about the effect lockdown would have on him. One of them also told officers they had seen Garcia attack the couple in the hallway leading to the front door of the property.

Detective Inspector Karen Bangs, from the Met Specialist Crime Command, said: “This was a dreadful and seemingly unprovoked attack on two innocent people who gave Garcia a place to live. My thoughts remain with their family and friends who continue to come to terms with their loss.”

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