Seven Years After Wife’s Murder in Pasadena, Suspect Faces Competency Hearing

More than seven years after a woman was murdered and dismembered inside a vacant Pasadena restaurant near a major intersection, the case against her husband remains unresolved — and a competency hearing will determine whether it moves forward.

Valentino Gutierrez, now 64, is charged with one count of murder and one count of arson with an accelerant allegation in the death of his wife, Tiana Theresa Alfred, 31. The defense raised doubts about Gutierrez’s mental fitness to stand trial in July 2025, suspending criminal proceedings over the prosecution’s objection, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Authorities allege that Gutierrez killed Alfred on or around January 31, 2018, at the abandoned Dona Rosa Bakery & Taqueria at 577 S. Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena. At the time, both Gutierrez and Alfred were homeless and living at the Union Station Adult Center in Pasadena, according to police.

After the killing, prosecutors say Gutierrez dismembered Alfred’s body, placed the remains in a suitcase and boarded a Metro Gold Line train at the Fillmore Station in Pasadena shortly after midnight on February 1, 2018. He allegedly exited at the Lincoln/Cypress Station in Los Angeles and rode a bicycle to a Home Depot parking lot at 2055 N. Figueroa St. in Cypress Park, where the suitcase was set on fire around 1:30 a.m., according to police.

Firefighters responding to a report of a rubbish fire discovered the remains. The medical examiner’s office later determined Alfred died of strangulation.

LAPD investigators used Metro surveillance footage and a police bloodhound to trace the route back to Pasadena. Homeless individuals in the neighborhood identified Gutierrez from surveillance photographs, according to police.

Gutierrez was arrested on February 2, 2018, outside the homeless shelter where he and Alfred had been living. He pleaded not guilty on February 15, 2018, and has been held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility on $2.17 million bail.

LAPD Deputy Chief Justin Eisenberg described the case at a 2018 press conference as “a particularly disturbing homicide because of its sheer brutality,” according to CBS News. Capt. Billy Hayes of the Robbery-Homicide Division, the lead investigative unit, said at the same press conference that the act required significant determination, according to the Pasadena Star-News.

Court records show Gutierrez has an extensive criminal history, including convictions for robbery, battery, domestic violence, burglary, sexual battery and weapons offenses, according to multiple news reports. Authorities have not publicly disclosed a motive.

The case has moved through multiple pretrial hearings and continuances over the past seven years. On July 17, 2025, the defense formally raised doubts about Gutierrez’s competency during a hearing in Pasadena Superior Court, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Under California law, a defendant found mentally incompetent is unable to cooperate with their attorney or does not understand the nature of the proceedings due to mental illness or developmental disability.

A mental competency hearing was held on October 1, 2025, at the Hollywood Courthouse, according to Pasadena Now. The current hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. in Department F at the Pasadena Courthouse, 300 E. Walnut St. Contact: 626-396-3323.

If convicted, Gutierrez faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. The competency determination will decide whether the case can proceed.