On March 18, 2023, 50-year-old Cesar Antillon Muñoz and 45-year-old Elidia Solis De Mejia were fatally shot at their Lexington Avenue residence in east Bakersfield. Kern County Sheriff’s deputies responded about 5:02 p.m. and found both victims deceased from gunshot wounds.

Investigators later arrested 37-year-old Javier Andrade-Mejia in September 2023 and charged him with two counts of first-degree murder. Reports say Andrade-Mejia had a prior relationship with the victims’ daughter and shared a child with her; tensions over child custody issues were cited as a potential motive. Prosecutors presented firearm analysis linking a gun in Andrade-Mejia’s possession to shell casings at the scene, and the jury found him guilty on all counts, including special allegations that he committed multiple murders and personally discharged a firearm causing death. Sentencing was scheduled for November 2024.

The killings devastated the Bakersfield community and left family and friends mourning Muñoz and Solis De Mejia. If anyone knew the victims or has information about the events leading up to March 18, 2023, please come forward.