Inset: Armando Velador-Padilla. Darla Velador. Background: The location where the murder happened (Images via KTUU).
An Alaska father who claimed his daughter was possessed by the devil when he stabbed her and her dog to death will spend decades in prison.
Armando Velador-Padilla, 50, has been sentenced for the death of his daughter, Darla Velador, 22. The judge gave him 60 years in prison, with 10 years suspended, after he was convicted of second-degree murder and animal cruelty.
The tragic event took place on April 23, 2021. Velador’s father, who was suffering from schizophrenia, believed he needed to “kill the devil” he thought was inside his daughter. He fatally stabbed her and her dog, Max. A grand jury indicted him for the crimes shortly after.
Though diagnosed with schizophrenia, Velador-Padilla was deemed competent to stand trial and pled guilty. The court determined that his mental illness posed a significant threat to the community. His condition was described as being medication-resistant, and he had a history of non-compliance with medical treatment, even while in custody.
Darla Velador’s obituary said she was one of a kind and left the world a better place. She was a young mother and had her son before graduating from Burchell High School in 2016.
“She had a love of art, music, animals, and was a humanitarian,” the obituary said. “Cooking, entertaining, singing and writing music, comedy, her son, her boyfriend Seth Masterson, and her rescue dog Max were some of her favorite things.”
“Sadly, she left this world prematurely on the afternoon of April 23rd, 2021 alongside her best buddy Max.”
Adam Mokelke, a former principal at Burchell High School, told Anchorage NBC affiliate KTUU she finished high school despite the challenges of being a young mom.
“One of my first thoughts went to her son,” he said. “She was just such a magnetic and a positive personality. She was loved, and she’s gonna be missed. This is just horrible.”
