Man sentenced 15 years to life for strangling woman

An Ocean Beach man who strangled a woman in a Mission Valley motel room in 2021 has been sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison.

Santiago Antonio Contreras, 42, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Tonya Molina, 43, who was from Tucson, Arizona.

“We all have a hole in our hearts,” said the victim’s father, Rick Molina. “We all hurt from her missing existence.”

Her children submitted letters to San Diego Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein, who heard from five other people making statements.

Goldstein ordered Contreras to pay $4,500 towards the victim’s funeral expenses, according to court records recently released.

Deputy District Attorney Laura Evans said Contreras met Molina in Pacific Beach on April 18, 2021, while Molina was vacationing in San Diego. Contreras is also from Tucson, Arizona.

Evans said Contreras had a picture of both of them on his phone from the beach. Contreras drove both of them to the Super 8 Motel in Mission Valley, checked into a room, and were seen on video surveillance cameras, Evans said.

The prosecutor said Contreras was seen on video surveillance cameras leaving the room the next morning on April 19, 2021, and discarding motel linens in a nearby trash can. Contreras was seen driving away.

A housekeeper found Molina deceased in the bed, said Evans. Police were called at 1:20 p.m. and the cause of death was strangulation.

Contreras was arrested in his car in Ocean Beach on April 21, 2021. Goldstein gave him credit for serving 682 days in jail. He is currently imprisoned in Chino.