Man found guilty of manslaughter 22 years after stabbing estranged wife

Twenty-two years after stabbing his estranged wife to death in his penthouse apartment in northwest Toronto, 65-year-old Juan Antonio Avalos has been found guilty of manslaughter in an uncontested, one-day trial.

The guilty verdict after a judge-alone trial comes just days before his second-degree murder trial was set to begin.

In August 2024, Avalos was extradited back to Canada from El Salvador.

Avalos had been wanted for two decades for the death of his wife, 26-year-old Rosaura Tolentino Ramos.

On Wednesday, Avalos told court through a translator he was “innocent” of manslaughter. Crown Counsels Scott Arnold and Ysolt Brar then proceeded to read out an uncontested statement of facts. Defence counsel Ian McCuaig did not call any evidence.

The court heard that Avalos immigrated to Canada from El Salvador in 1985 and was a Canadian citizen at the time of the incident in 2004.

Avalos and Ramos met through a priest at a community centre in the fall of 2003 and after briefly dating, they were married in late November that year.

In late January 2024, Avalos was arrested and charged with assaulting his wife. He denied the allegations and was set to go to trial in February 2005.

From January until August 2004, Avalos was subject to bail conditions which restricted his contact with Ramos and by August 2004, Ramos had moved into her sister’s home.

According to the facts, Avalos went to Ramos’ sister’s home on Aug. 29, 2004 in the afternoon or evening.

Hours later, after 10 p.m., Avalos and Ramos were together in his penthouse apartment at 2397 Finch Ave. W.  The facts state they were the only two present in the unit during the late evening of Aug. 29, 2004 and the early morning hours of Aug. 30, 2004.

A neighbour who lived in a 12th floor unit, directly below Avalos’ penthouse apartment, awoke to the sounds of a loud Spanish argument coming from outside her apartment.

“It sounded like it was coming from above. She heard a man with a deep voice shouting and calling the woman “puta” while the distressed woman pleaded “Santa Maria” and “No Dios” (meaning “No, God”). After several minutes, the confrontation ended with a “horrible” female scream lasting a few seconds, which was followed by complete silence,” said Arnold, reading from the facts.

Early the next morning, the neighbour was out on her balcony and heard the distinctive sound of water and a broom scrubbing an adjacent balcony or living room floor.

Arnold told court that surveillance video from the building on Aug. 30, 2024 captured Avalos leaving his penthouse apartment around 6 a.m. with two suitcases. He was seen driving out of the parkade before returning to the building around 7:30 a.m., going back up to the penthouse and leaving again with more bags.

Avalos was captured on video surveillance just after 8 a.m. at a nearby CIBC taking $1,000 in cash out of an ATM. Later that afternoon, he traveled to the Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Detroit, Mich. where he purchased a one-way ticket to El Salvador, which he paid for in cash.

He boarded the flight at 7:08 p.m. After layovers in Orlando and Los Angeles, he arrived in El Salvador on Aug. 31, 2004.

That same day, Ramos’ sister reported her missing to police. Officers went to Avalos’ apartment to do a well-being check. When they arrived, they found her lifeless body lying on the bed in the bedroom. She was still wearing the same red top she was wearing on Aug. 29, 2004.

Ramos had a stab wound to the left side of her neck and a kitchen knife was located close to her head. An autopsy revealed the cause of death was a stab wound to the neck.

Avalos was arrested in El Salvador on Jan. 24, 2024 on the strength of a red notice. He was subsequently held in a state prison pending extradition proceedings.

Toronto police officers were advised by Interpol Operations of Avalos’ arrest and submitted a request for extradition. He was subsequently arrested by Canadian authorities on August 15, 2024 at Pearson International Airport in Toronto.

The facts did not state where Avalos was found in El Salvador at the time of his arrest.

Court heard that the second-degree murder trial for Avalos was set to start next Monday and expected to take four weeks. Those dates have now been vacated.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for January.