Male tortured girlfriend for days, tattooed 'degrading words' on her chest before murdering her on Christmas Eve: Officials

A California man was convicted Tuesday of nine felony counts in connection with the 2021 murder and torture of his girlfriend.

A jury found Saul C. Nava, 24, guilty of first-degree murder, torture, kidnapping, aggravated mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting corporal injury to current/former spouse/cohabitant/fiancé, and possession of child pornography.

'I'm scared. I'm really scared. I'm terrified.'

Senior Deputy District Attorney David Russell stated, "Although this result cannot erase the immeasurable pain the defendant inflicted on the victims and their families, we hope that this brings some measure of closure to see him held accountable for his horrific crimes."

Officials said Nava tortured his girlfriend for days and murdered her on Christmas Eve. Then he called 911.

Police responded to the call and found a gruesome crime scene at Nava's studio apartment in Thousand Oaks.

Nava tortured Alisen Takacs-Escobar, 24, for days, she and had injuries over her entire body. She suffered from extensive bruising and the top of her head also showed a large laceration.

The Ventura County District Attorney's Office said "degrading words" were newly tattooed on the center of her chest.

Police said Nava had used tattoo equipment, baseball bats, a hammer, a belt, and a screwdriver to torture his girlfriend.

Nava’s cellphone was found in the apartment. In the hours leading up to her death, Nava had recorded videos with the phone that showed him "taunting her and displaying no concern for her worsening condition."

The Ventura County Star reported that there were four videos on Nava's phone that showed blood streaming across a large portion of Takacs-Escobar's face.

"Express yourself," a male voice is heard saying in one of the videos.

Takacs-Escobar replies: "I'm scared. I'm really scared. I'm terrified."

The male asks, "Is what you did worth it?" She answers no.

Nava was arrested at the apartment.

Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office found that Takacs-Escobar died of blunt force injuries and ruled her death a homicide.

The fatal attack purportedly occurred a few weeks after Nava noticed a phone message between Takacs-Escobar and a former boyfriend.

A police witness described the message as "flirtatious" and had discussed their former sexual relations.

The prosecution said they were not having a sexual relationship at the time.

Nava indicated he was aware that the pair were not having physical contact but said he considered flirting to be cheating.

An ex-girlfriend of Nava's told authorities he had physically abused her and confined her in a closet when they were teenagers.

At one point in the relationship, the ex-girlfriend said she attempted to flee, but Nava allegedly found her and threatened her with a knife until she got into his vehicle.

The ex-girlfriend got pregnant when she was 17 and said Nava punched her in the stomach and forced her to get an abortion. She said Nava punched her in the face, choked her, and secretly filmed their sex life.

Sophia Nuno, a high school friend of Takacs-Escobar, testified that her friend “was super friendly, bubbly, happy and outgoing” before she started dating Nava and that her behavior changed after she started dating him.

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