2:38 p.m. - 2004-10-07
Adriana Pinon: 2.5 years later
In February 2002, I wrote an entry entitled "R.I.P. Adriana Pinon". It was about the murder of an 18 yr. old aspiring actress, whom I did not know personally.
Go read it.
It was my first, and only, serious diary entry.
It was not humorous or funny or anything.
Lots of people liked it. Lots of people thought it was a refreshing and unexpected change of pace from my typical humorous entry.
But, lots of people complained. They wanted to read something funny. They didn't want to read something so serious and depressing.
My response, more or less: "Tough!"
Now, two and a half years later, I have decided to write my second serious diary entry. And it seems only right that my second serious diary entry ever should be a follow-up to my first one.
An update to my Adriana Pinon entry.
Recently, out of the clear blue, I was contacted by the sister of Adriana Pinon. She had found my diary entry on the internet, and told me they had recently celebrated what would've been Adriana's 21st birthday. My February 2002 diary entry, I was happy to find out, got her "seal of approval", so to speak. She had found it by searching for Adriana Pinon's name. I was surprised to discover that when searching for "Adriana Pinon" in Google, my diary comes up at the top of the list.
I felt like I had become unwittingly sucked into the story, although I never knew Adriana in life. I felt like it was my duty, somehow, to follow-up on the events.
I decided to talk to her sister, via e-mail, to find out more about Adriana and share her thoughts, along with a news update on the story, to all of my readers here.
Turns out, Adriana had been a recurring extra on "The Young & the Restless". She had made 19 appearances on the show, in a nonspeaking role. She had filmed her most recent appearance on the show the same week she was murdered.
My original entry about Adriana had been accurate mostly. I had gotten almost all of the facts straight. Something which Adriana's sister said few journalists managed to do when writing about the incident. I made one mistake, though, in my original entry. I wrote that Adriana had been "filled with bullets"......Turns out, it was only one bullet, to the back of the head.
One is all it takes.
At the time of my February 2002 entry, the case was unsolved. My entry, in fact, was written only two days after the murder.
Two months later, though, as written by the San Diego Union-Tribune:
Hugo Jiminez, 20, pleaded guilty in San Diego Superior Court to murdering the 18-year-old television soap opera actress inside her Lomita home. By agreeing to a plea bargain with prosecutors, Jiminez spares himself the possibility of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Nevertheless, Judge Peter Deddeh told Jiminez he will serve 40 years in prison before he even becomes eligible for a parole hearing.
Jiminez was one of two young men charged in the Jan. 31, 2002, slaying. Jiminez's companion, Brian Aquino, 18, also pleaded guilty yesterday to a robbery charge, which will send him to prison for no more than five years and eight months.
DNA and fingerprints at the crime scene led the police to the two suspects. Jiminez apparently wanted to be in a relationship with Adriana Pinon. She turned him down, so he and his friend, Brian Aquino, drove to Adriana's house to rob her in revenge. The three of them sat there watching "Antz" for about ten minutes, before Jiminez punched Adriana in the face three times and pulled out a gun. Aquino ran outside with a stereo, as Jiminez ran out with a TV, which he later dropped in the driveway.
Then, Jiminez went back inside the house alone while Aquino waited outside. Aquino heard a gunshot from within the house....
And that was that.
The e-mail sent to me by Adriana's sister concludes the matter best, I think, and hopefully she doesn't mind me re-printing it:
I only found your entry as I was just checking the web to see if there were any articles I may have missed. I was a little annoyed at some of the journalists not getting her age or some facts correct. They did in fact catch the guy who killed her and the kid that was with him, although it seemed unlikely in the begining.
Thanks to 'Young & the Restless', the story was aired on 'America's Most Wanted' and it is my belief that this prompted the police to actually catch this guy. Many times when it is a young hispanic victim it seems they (police) don't try as hard as possible.
Although in the end, prior to going to trial, he plea bargained for 40 yrs to life, it upsets me that he was never made to answer any questions as to why, if he was on drugs, or what made him do what he did. He could have received the death penalty, but my parents really didn't feel strong enough to re-live everything in a court trial.
In court for sentencing, I stated to him that he couldn't have known my sister well, because if he did he would have never done what he did, unless he is just an evil person. They say he was an acquaintance she met when he was dating one of her friends (although the family didn't know him). She was just the type of person that was nice to everyone, regardless of the situation. Not sure if he made advances and she declined, or what...I guess we will never know.
The one thing I know is she did nothing to deserve this!! You can check online, as they have quite a few news articles about the charges, hearings, and the sentencing.
As far as your entry is concerned, I saw nothing wrong with it - I still spend time thinking if only I had spent more time with her on Christmas or New Year's, but who would have known it would be her last. The last time we spoke, she told me the sweater we bought her for Christmas was going to be famous, as she was wearing it for the Valentine's Day episode of 'Young & the Restless'.
Little did I know that it would be one of the last episodes she would record........
