Stockton Man Sentenced In Pleasanton Trash Can Body Case

PLEASANTON (CBS/AP) — A Stockton man was sentenced Wednesday for the death of his live-in girlfriend whose body was found in a trash can in Pleasanton amid allegations by prosecutors that he may have killed other women prior.

Thirty-five-year-old Javier Prado Sandoval was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder last week in San Joaquin County Superior Court.

Prosecutors believe 25-year-old Ana Flores-Pineda may be the third woman Sandoval has killed, in each case, to get out of a relationship. Sandoval reportedly fled to the U.S. after his wife died of strangulation in Mexico.

The body of Flores-Pineda was discovered badly decomposed in a 45-gallon trash can. Authorities were not able to identify her for months.

Prosecutors say Sandoval and Flores-Pineda dated for years as she was murdered at their home in Stockton and her body was dumped in Pleasanton.

Sandoval was arrested on Halloween after authorities linked him to the murder through his girlfriend's DNA, tracing his cell phone and lies he told to her family and co-workers.