A judge has sentenced Adrian Aguilar to life in prison with an additional 26 years for the murder of his 19-year-old girlfriend, Amira Crofton, in Tempe.
According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, in June of 2023, the defendant, Aguilar, was driving with Amira around Tempe when he saw a text message in her phone from another man. Aguilar demanded that she tell him if she was cheating on him and threatened to shoot her if she would not tell him the truth. After she repeatedly denied having a relationship with someone else, Aguilar shot her. Over the next 45 minutes, the defendant drove around Tempe repeatedly shooting her.
Police responded to a call for help near Broadway Road and 48th Street after a witness saw Aguilar standing outside his car and firing multiple shots at the passenger seat before walking away. When police arrived, they found Aguilar near the crime scene with a gunshot wound claiming that his car had been shot up. Police discovered several inconsistencies with Aguilar’s story and after additional interviews, he ultimately confessed to shooting Amira because he thought she disrespected him. He also admitted to shooting himself in the shoulder.
Amira had eleven gunshot wounds to her head, neck, and torso as well as multiple injuries to her face, head, and hands. During the police interview, the defendant shared that Amira was scared, crying and asked to be taken home as he shot her.
In February of this year, a jury found Aguilar guilty of one count of First-Degree Murder, a Class One Felony, one count of Kidnapping, a Class Two Felony, and two counts of Aggravated Assault, a Class Three Felony.
“This young woman placed her trust in the defendant, and he repaid that trust with brutal violence,” said County Attorney Mitchell. “His actions were callous, calculated, and rooted in jealousy. Thanks to the dedicated work of prosecutors Shaylee Beasley and Katie Staab, he has been held accountable and will spend his life in prison.”
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