39-year-old Craig J. Charron has been sentenced to 26 years to life in prison for the murder of his estranged girlfriend, Laura Sardinha. He broke into her home after she had obtained a restraining order against him and changed the locks of her apartment to keep him out.
25-year-old Laura had been pursuing an online psychology degree with the hope of offering counselling services to women in abusive relationships. In the backdrop, she felt trapped in an abusive relationship herself and wanted to end it as quickly as possible.
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As reported by The Los Angeles Times, Charron had perforated her eardrum in an earlier attack, which forced her to cut off ties with him and obtain a restraining order against him. Unfortunately, Charron couldn’t take no for an answer and decided to go against her.
On the morning of her death on September 2, 2020, Laura had also recorded herself begging him to leave her house. “You terrify me, because you don’t leave,” she said in the recording.
After he left, he bombarded her with calls and texts but she ignored them all. Instead, she changed her locks to keep him away. However, he still broke in.
When Laura returned home at 1:15 pm local time, she reportedly started a call with her mother and her best friend. However, the call was interrupted as she saw Charron inside her apartment. According to The Times, she exclaimed in fear, “Oh my god, he’s here!”
Her friend then ended the call to dial 911. However, Laura called her back and thus left a 37-second voice mail in which she could be heard screaming, “He’s gonna kill me!” and “Get away from me!”
As the voicemail was presented in court during the trial, Orange County Deputy DA Janine Madera said during her closing argument, “If you listen to it carefully, you hear a woman narrating her own murder.”
Laura was stabbed twice in her chest and nearly had her nose cut off as she was found dead in her apartment following her friend’s 911 call. Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Cassidy labelled Charron’s attack on Laura “senseless and brutal” as the convict was given the maximum sentence permitted by law.
As per the report, Charron didn’t apologize for his actions, nor did he show any remorse. Laura’s mother, Marie Sardinha, told the judge, “All Laura wanted was to be free of the abuse and the torment. This man should not be out in society. He should never be let out.”
The convicted California man described himself as an Air Force veteran and was reportedly receiving psychiatric treatment at the VA. While Laura was found dead, Charron was bleeding from chest and neck wounds. The prosecution claimed that Charron’s wounds were self-inflicted. Deputy DA Janine Madera said, It doesn’t matter if he self-inflicted wounds or if she defended herself. He was the aggressor 100% of the time.”
Referring to the chilling voice mail, she added, “You don’t hear the defendant on it, and his silence is absolutely deafening. He’s enjoying taking his time killing her.”
⚖️CALIFORNIA vs Craig Charron⚖️ Sentenced gets 26-years-to-life sentence for murder.
Laura Sardinha was on phone while her boyfriend stabbed her to death😡 https://t.co/WYA1MLDdcT #life #girlfriend #truecrime pic.twitter.com/AXtVm0Mp0M
— American Crime Stories (@AmericanCrime01) July 27, 2025
During the trial, three of Charron’s ex-girlfriends testified against him and accused him of abuse. They all had obtained restraining orders against him and alleged that he had assaulted them at some point in their relationship.
Victim’s father, Manuel Sardinha, told the judge that he was a Vietnam veteran himself and suggested that Charron shouldn’t get any leniency as a vet.
Disclaimer: If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential.
