The Murder of Karyme Barreto-Sabalza

Karyme Barreto-Sabalza was only 17 years-old when she was murdered by her boyfriend, Giovanni Herrin (19) on June 16th, 2018. Karyme and Giovanni met in early 2018 in Federal Way, Washington. They had only been dating for a few months prior to the murder, and Karyme was just days away from graduating high school before her life was tragically taken from her. Giovanni, on the other hand, was unemployed with a lengthy criminal record, including several robbery convictions. In fact, Giovanni had just been released from police custody a week prior to the shooting.

Giovanni Herrin

A few months before her death, Karyme told her friends that she was afraid of Giovanni. She said that Giovanni had taken money from her and threatened her safety. In a Facebook message, Karyme wrote to her friend: “If anything happens to me, report it and say it was Gio.” However, on the day of the murder, the couple initially seemed to be on good terms. Giovanni visited Karyme and work, and he spent the day there with her until her shift ended. Afterwards, the two went to Salt Air Vista Park in Kent, Washington. At the park, Giovanni lured Karyme into the woods and then shot her in the head. He then fled the scene in Karyme’s car, with all of her money, credit cards, and other personal belongings in his possession. Shortly after killing her, Giovanni was seen using Karyme’s ATM card at a nearby bank.

After Karyme’s body was found, Giovanni was quickly identified as a suspect. It did not take police long to locate him and take him into custody. Giovanni denied killing her—he first told investigators that a man named Montae killed Karyme to “get back at him.” Later, he said that his own brother killed Karyme for setting him up in a previous robbery. Prosecutors believe that he acted alone, and they ultimately believe that robbery was the motive behind Giovanni killing his own girlfriend.

Since being arrested, Giovanni has made several attempts to escape from custody. He successfully escaped once, after being taken to the hospital after faking chest pains. Giovanni was captured shortly thereafter and has been behind bars since then. He recently plead not guilty to Karyme’s murder and is currently awaiting further court proceedings.