Second man gets life sentence for 2019 firefighter killing and body burning

POMONA, Calif. - A San Gabriel man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the 2019 murder of a firefighter from West Covina and the burning of his body.

Jurors found Shaun Cardarelli, 41, guilty last Friday of one count each of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit arson in the death of John Aguila. A second suspect in the case, 23-year-old Elijah Thomas Rouse, received the same sentence last month, after pleading guilty in January.

Aguila's family reported him missing on Aug. 22, 2019, after he didn't show up for his job as a part-time Bureau of Land Management firefighter and didn't return home that day. 

The next day, deputies found a severely-burned body which had been wrapped in a blanket and plastic wrap and bound with duct tape in the road near Euclid and Mountain Avenues in Upland. That body was later identified as Aguila's.

Missing person: John Brian Mananghaya Aguila

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Two arrested on suspicion of murder in connection to disappearance of firefighter from West Covina

That same day, police learned Aguila's car had been impounded in the city of San Dimas. When they investigated, they found surveillance footage that showed a man who was not Aguila leaving the car and walking away from it. When they looked inside the car, police found bloody gloves and clothes in the trunk.

The criminal complaint against Cardarelli and Rouse alleged that the two murdered Aguila in his apartment, dragged his body to the car, and drove out to San Bernardino County before dumping the body and setting it on fire. 

Cardarelli and Rouse were arrested less than a week after the murder and have been behind bars ever since.

Before his sentencing, Rouse admitted that the murder happened during the commission of a robbery.

City News Service contributed to this report.