Marcos Vargas
May 18, 2018
Reports: Pathologist says wounds inflicted on Bakersfield attorney indicate an attempt to decapitate
By Jason Kowtowski
Bakersfield.com
Marcos Vargas likely knew his time was short.
The 26-year-old attorney scrambled from one apartment to the next early Nov. 29, frantically knocking on doors and ringing doorbells as he tried to get help, according to court documents. As he rushed, blood spilled from stab wounds he apparently attempted to stanch by holding a towel around his neck.
By the time police arrived, it was too late. Officers found Vargas' nude body lying in the northeast area of the apartment complex where he lived in the 600 block of Hosking Avenue, according to court documents released Friday.
During Vargas' autopsy, a pathologist located several deep cuts around his neck. He characterized them as three distinct attempts to decapitate the attorney, the documents say.
On May 3, roughly five months after Vargas' grisly killing, a 19-year-old Bakersfield man was charged in his death.
Nicholas Quintana, 19, met Vargas on a dating app and went to his apartment. After stabbing Vargas, Quintana stole items including a cell phone, Bakersfield police detectives allege in court documents.
The phone was later found in a storm drain in Long Beach, the documents say. Cell tower data shows Quintana's phone was in the area of the apartment complex at the time of the killing then traveled to Long Beach afterward to the area where Vargas' phone was located.
Additionally, surveillance video from the night of Vargas' death shows a vehicle similar to Quintana's arriving at the apartment complex around midnight and leaving after the killing occurred, the documents say.
Quintana has pleaded not guilty and is next due in court Thursday.
He told investigators he didn't know Vargas and has never been to his apartment complex. He said he has a girlfriend in Long Beach.
The girlfriend said Quintana comes and goes frequently and she couldn't remember if he was at her apartment Nov. 29, the documents say.
The attack apparently began in the west bedroom, police say in the documents, as officers found signs of a struggle including knocked over furniture and blood spatter and smearing on the walls, floor, ceiling and furniture.
A man who answered in response to Vargas' knocking told police the attorney was nude, bleeding profusely and in distress, and he ran to get something to cover him up. When he returned with a blanket, he found Vargas lying in the grass, apparently dead.
A licensed attorney in Mexico, Vargas came to Kern County after passing the bar exam in the United States and went to work for Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance in June 2016.
Friends and coworkers praised Vargas' dedication and work ethic. Their names are redacted from the court documents.
One woman described him as "a very nice and outgoing person who always wanted to help people," and she didn't know of anyone who would want to harm him, according to the documents. She said he only went out to business social events, and she never saw him drink excessively.
Similar comments were made by a number of other coworkers. Most also said they knew little of Vargas' personal life.
But a person who had engaged in sex acts with Vargas told investigators the attorney didn't want his friends or family to know he was gay, according to the documents.
He said Vargas had previously been the victim of a robbery by someone else he met online.
The person told investigators "meeting strangers online is risky because you never know who you are going to meet... ."
https://www.bakersfield.com/news/rep...96d3cbd61.html
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