Life sentence for man who killed father-in-law and brother-in-law in Valley Center

A man who shot and killed his father-in-law and brother-in-law in Valley Center was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 50 years.

Christian Bobila, 46, was found guilty earlier this year by a Vista Superior Court jury in the June 26, 2022 killings of Vicente Reyes, 79, and Vincent Reyes, 45.

The public prosecutor assumes that the murders were the result of “a long-standing conflict in the family.” The reason for this was Bobila’s marriage to Vicente Reyes’ daughter, which took place without the father’s blessing.

On the day of the murders, Bobila drove from the Bay Area to the Reyes family home in Valley Center.

According to prosecutors, he first shot his brother-in-law three times while he was talking on the phone. Bobila then shot his father-in-law in the head and chest in an upstairs bedroom.

Prosecutors say Bobila’s wife tried to intervene, but Bobila killed her father in her presence. He then drove away but was arrested about a mile away.

Bobila was found guilty in March of two counts of premeditated murder, misuse of firearms and multiple counts of murder under special circumstances.