Pasadena Woman’s Killer Sentenced to 26 Years to Life in Hotel Stabbing Case

Treeanna Nichols, 22, of Pasadena, was found murdered in a motel in Westminster on February 5, 2018. [Westminster Police Department photo]

A judge sentenced a man to 26 years to life in prison Friday for the 2018 murder of a 22-year-old Pasadena woman at a Westminster hotel.

Aryan Vito Smith, 30, made an open plea to murder with a sentencing enhancement for using a deadly weapon on March 8. Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson imposed the maximum sentence after ruling the crime constituted first-degree murder rather than second-degree, which would have carried a lesser sentence of 16 years to life.

Treeanna Nichols was found dead in her room shortly before 11 p.m. on February 5, 2018, at the Quality Inn at 6601 Westminster Blvd., having suffered multiple stab wounds, according to Westminster Police Department Cmdr. Cameron Knauerhaze.

The case remained unsolved for over two years. In March 2018, Westminster police sought public assistance, releasing surveillance footage showing a suspect using a vaping device while climbing the hotel stairs to the victim’s room.

Smith was arrested in May 2020 and held on $1 million bail. According to Knauerhaze, investigators believe the assailant sustained injuries during the attack.