BOZEMAN — A man charged with homicide in the fatal stabbing of a 19-year-old man in Bozeman in July 2022 has changed his plea to guilty, according to the Montana Attorney General's Office.
According to a press release, Francisco Padilla-Canales pleaded guilty in Gallatin County District Court on Friday to mitigated deliberate homicide. He was previously facing charges of deliberate homicide, aggravated kidnapping, tampering with witnesses and information, and aggravated burglary.
The release said that after tracking his estranged wife with a GPS device planted on her car, Padilla-Canales discovered that she and the victim were in a relationship. Padilla-Canales attacked them both, stabbing the victim multiple times in the chest.
Padilla-Canales attempted CPR after the attack, according to the release, but the victim died from his injuries shortly after law enforcement arrived on the scene.
According to the Attorney General's Office, Padilla-Canales is in the U.S. illegally and is currently detained on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hold.
Padilla-Canales faces up to 40 years in prison; his sentencing is scheduled for March 18, 2024. The release said both the State and the Defense will recommend that Padilla-Canales be sentenced to the Montana State Prison for a total of 40 years, with 10 suspended.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Jordan P. Salo and investigated by the Bozeman Police Department.
