A former Ceres man has been convicted of the fatal 2017 stabbing of his estranged wife and faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life.

David Perez Jimenez, 37, was convicted in the Stanislaus County Superior Court for the murder of Yeraldin Guzman Dominguez David on Feb. 26, 2017 at her home in Ceres. He will be sentenced on June 7.

The 26-year-old woman was fatally stabbed at her apartment unit in the 3700 block of Central Avenue. The victim suffered seven to eight stab wounds to her head, face, neck and chest after a heated argument in which Jimenez accused her of being unfaithful. Yeraldin’s adult roommate witnessed the attack and called 911.

When police officers arrived they found Jimenez lying on the same bed as the victim with self-inflicted cuts to his wrists and a puncture wound to the chest. He was arrested and booked for murder days later after he was released from the hospital.

Prosecutors detailed that Jimenez went to Dominguez’s apartment and lured their daughters out of the home by getting him something to eat. Armed with a kitchen knife he then entered her bedroom where an argument ensued about her desire to end the relationship.

Paramedics were unable to save Dominguez and she was declared dead at the scene.

Jimenez later told Ceres Police that Dominguez stabbed him first and that he stabbed Dominguez in self-defense. After three days of testimony, a jury found Jimenez guilty of premeditated murder with an enhancement that he had personally used a knife during the commission of the murder.