Vitaliy Zaytsev, a 41-year-old White man, was a well-liked and respected manager at a CVS store in Folsom, California. His mother later wrote, "On May 3rd, 2024, my world shattered when my beloved son, Vitaliy was murdered." Those who knew him remembered him as a good man who would be greatly missed.
On that night, just before 11 p.m., Zaytsev had just arrived at his home on Hillridge Way in Carmichael. As he sat in his vehicle in the driveway, another car approached. An assailant got out, walked up to Zaytsev’s car, and fired three rounds inside before fleeing. Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene and found Zaytsev suffering from gunshot wounds to his head. Emergency responders pronounced him dead.
Within days, detectives identified three suspects. On May 6, 2024, Michael Anthony Espinosa and Miguel Esquibel were arrested in Idaho with the help of the Boise FBI and local police.
A third suspect, Jeannette Lucille Nunes, was arrested in San Jose on May 9. Investigators learned that Nunes, 57, had been in a romantic relationship with Zaytsev, and that Espinosa, 40, was her son. All three were extradited to Sacramento County to face charges of murder and conspiracy.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that the trio had carefully plotted the murder to collect on Zaytsev's $250,000 life-insurance policy, which named Nunes as the primary beneficiary and her son Espinosa as the contingent. Evidence showed that Espinosa and Esquibel, 36, rented a car and drove from Idaho to Carmichael to carry out the attack. They left their regular cellphones behind and used a prepaid phone to communicate with Nunes. Investigators were able to recover deleted messages and call records that linked all three defendants in the days leading up to the shooting.
In June 2026, a Sacramento County jury found Jeannette Lucille Nunes, Michael Anthony Espinosa, and Miguel Esquibel guilty of first-degree murder. The jury also convicted Espinosa of being a felon in possession of a firearm and found true the sentencing enhancements for committing murder for financial gain and using a gun. As of June 2026, all three remained in custody awaiting a sentencing hearing scheduled for the following month. Nunes and Espinosa face potential life terms in prison, while Esquibel faces a sentence of 26 years to life.
