Man found guilty of killing wife in motel room

A man was convicted last week of killing his estranged wife at a Huntington Beach motel and then leaving her body, which their 17-year-old daughter later found.

Fidelio Marin, 40, was found guilty of felony second-degree murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

His sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. April 29 in the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. He faces 16 years to life in state prison, prosecutors said.

Marin called his wife, Felix Mendez, on Oct. 10, 2008, and asked her to meet him at the Starlight Motel, 18382 Beach Blvd. According to prosecutors, Marin had been staying there because Mendez had asked for a divorce.

Mendez brought one of their four children with her to meet Marin, who repeatedly stabbed Mendez after their daughter left the motel room, prosecutors said.

Marin admitted during the trial to snapping and stabbing his wife because she told him he wasn’t a man, according to prosecutors.

After failing to get in contact with either parent, the daughter drove to the motel room and climbed through the window after finding that the door was locked.