Manuel Vela: A Crime So Disturbing It Defies Explanation

Some crimes are so disturbing, so completely unhinged, that trying to make sense of them is a waste of time. This is one of those cases.

In December 2016, Manuel Vela murdered his pregnant girlfriend, cut the baby from her body, and then led police on a high-speed chase while dangling the newborn out of his car window. When asked why he did it, his answer was as chilling as the crime itself. He said she understood she had to die.

A Toxic Relationship

There’s not much available about Manuel Vela’s life before this crime, which is probably for the best. We don’t need a deep dive into his childhood or a psychological breakdown to know he was deeply disturbed. What we do know is that by 28, he already had a history of domestic violence, with misdemeanor convictions for abuse and battery in 2009 and 2021.

His girlfriend, 30-year-old Katrina Rivera, was 39 weeks pregnant with their child. They were a couple, but based on what happened next, it’s safe to say their relationship was toxic at best, and outright dangerous at worst.

On December 8, 2016, Katrina was reported missing. Her child told police they had last seen her getting into Manuel’s 2000 Hyundai Elantra in Bakersfield, California. That was the last time anyone saw her alive.

The Murder

Later, when Manuel finally explained what happened, his reasoning was horrifyingly casual. According to him, they had been arguing about kids and cigarettes when Katrina told him she didn’t want to be with him anymore. That was enough.

He wrapped his hands around her neck and strangled her for five minutes. He made sure she was dead.

Then, instead of calling the police, he put her body in the back seat of his car and drove around town with her corpse. Hours passed before he finally pulled over on Edison Highway. At that point, he did something that pushes this case into the kind of darkness you can’t even process.

He took out a razor blade and cut the baby out of Katrina’s body.

What he planned to do next is unclear, but two days later, he was still driving around Bakersfield with the baby in his car when police spotted him.

The High-Speed Chase

On December 10, 2016, police tried to pull Manuel over, but instead of stopping, he hit the gas and took off. The chase was wild enough on its own, but what happened next was beyond anything officers had ever seen.

As he sped through the streets, he rolled down the driver’s side window and held the newborn outside of the car.

It was impossible to tell if the baby was alive, and officers had to make split-second decisions about how to stop him without endangering the child.

After several miles, a California Highway Patrol officer deployed a spike strip. Manuel, apparently incapable of making a single rational decision, swerved hard, trying to both avoid the strip and hit the officer at the same time. He failed on both counts. The strip shredded his tires, forcing him to pull over near East Bakersfield High School.

The Final Standoff

If he had any sense at all, this would have been the moment he surrendered. Instead, he got out of the car, carrying the baby in front of him like a human shield.

Police immediately recognized the strategy—he knew they wouldn’t shoot while he was holding a child. What they didn’t know was that the baby was already dead.

Officers shouted for him to stop, but he kept walking. When he realized the baby was slowing him down, he did something that stunned even the most seasoned law enforcement officers. He threw the baby into a gutter and kept running.

Police released a K9 unit, which took him down, and officers finally moved in. Even then, he fought them, kicking and punching as they restrained him.

Meanwhile, paramedics desperately tried to save the baby. CPR was performed, and the child was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late.

A doctor later confirmed that the baby had actually been alive after being cut from Katrina’s body. He had survived for some time before finally succumbing to his injuries.

At the same time, authorities found Katrina’s body, still in the back seat of Manuel’s car, exactly where he had left her.

His Justification

When asked why he did it, Manuel didn’t express regret or remorse. Instead, he justified it.

He claimed that Katrina understood she had to die.

That was his reasoning. Not that he lost control. Not that he had a moment of rage. Just that somehow, Katrina knew her fate.

Justice Never Came

Manuel was charged with two counts of murder—one for Katrina and one for the baby. Given the brutality of the crime, prosecutors were preparing to seek the death penalty.

But there would be no trial.

On January 9, 2017, just one month after his arrest, Manuel was found hanging in his jail cell.

Jail staff attempted to perform CPR, but he was pronounced dead shortly after.

There would be no sentencing, no final reckoning for what he had done. He took the coward’s way out before the families of his victims could even begin to see justice served.

Final Thoughts

Some crimes are so brutal that they leave a permanent scar on anyone who hears about them. This is one of those cases.

Katrina Rivera was just days away from bringing her child into the world when she was murdered by the man who was supposed to love and protect her. Her baby had a chance to survive but was robbed of that chance by the same hands that took his mother’s life.

And for what? A breakup? A bad argument? A trip to the store for cigarettes?

The only comfort here, if there is any, is that Manuel Vela is gone. He will never have the chance to hurt anyone else. But that’s small consolation for the families who lost Katrina and her child in one of the most horrific crimes imaginable.