Boyfriend Tortured Girlfriend For Days Before Tattooing & Killing Her Over 'Flirtatious' Text Message

[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]

A 24-year-old man from Thousand Oaks, California will spend at least the next 50 years in prison for the torture and murder of his girlfriend, and the kidnapping and torture of a separate ex-girlfriend who survived his reign of terror.

Saul Nava (pictured above in his mugshot) was sentenced last Thursday to 50 years and eight months to life in prison after being convicted at trial earlier this year on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting corporal injury to a current or former spouse/cohabitant/fiancé, and possession or control of child pornography.

The crimes for which Nava will now spend the next five decades or more in prison occurred in late November 2021. According to the Ventura County Star, Nava, 21 at the time, saw what he described on the stand in court as a “flirtatious” text message between his girlfriend Alisen Takacs-Escobar and her ex-boyfriend.

Although the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office claimed during Nava’s trial that the former couple was not engaged in a sexual relationship at the time, per the VC Star, the text was enough to send Nava into a rage. The convicted killer testified that his “pent-up frustration” bubbled over. He attacked Takacs-Escobar, striking her with both a belt and a baseball bat. Following that admission on the stand, the prosecutor asked:

“Did you think you were killing her?”

Nava coldly responded:

“No.”

Video submitted as evidence during trial showed Takacs-Escobar naked from the waist up with blood streaming down her face. She also had six tattoos scrawled onto her chest — tattoos that the prosecution said were part of the torture methods Nava used following the discovery of the text message. In one video taken just hours before her eventual death, per the VC Star, Takacs-Escobar can be heard saying:

“I’m scared. I’m really scared. I’m terrified.”

A male voice purported to be that of Nava replied:

“Is what you did worth it?”

OMG…

According to the District Attorney’s Office, Nava finally called 911 “after days of beating and torturing” Takacs-Escobar in their Thousand Oaks apartment. But by the time Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived on scene, Alisen was already dead. A press release later sent out by the DA’s office noted her corpse had “injuries all over her body.” It also documented the tattoos that contained “degrading words” scrawled on her chest:

“She suffered from extensive bruising, the top of her head had a large laceration, and degrading words were newly tattooed on the center of her chest. … In the apartment, deputies located tattoo equipment, baseball bats, a hammer, and a screwdriver which were used on Ms. Takacs-Escobar.”

Cops arrested Nava immediately. Later, per the DA release, detectives discovered more disturbing evidence on his phone:

“[Cell phone video showing] Nava taunting her and displaying no concern for her worsening condition.”

On the stand during trial, when confronted with the evidence, prosecutors grilled Nava over whether he intended to kill Takacs-Escobar. Unbelievably, he claimed he hadn’t meant for that to happen:

“No. I cared about her and her life. … From anger and from betrayal, there were times I hated her, but I still cared about her.”

WTF.

Chillingly, the violent acts against Takacs-Escobar weren’t the only crimes for which Nava was held responsible at his trial last month. He was also charged with — and convicted of — torturing one of his ex-girlfriends. That woman, who was not named in media reports, was in a relationship with Nava up until he started dating Takacs-Escobar in the summer of 2021.

At one point during their time together, the DA argued in court that Nava “brought her into his home, confined her to a closet, and beat her.” The woman ran away, but Nava “found her and threatened her with a knife until she got into his vehicle,” at which point the attack continued. Thankfully, that woman survived.

In a statement released late last week on Nava’s sentencing, Senior Deputy District Attorney David Russell said this of Nava’s 50-year-long minimum prison sentence:

“The sentence imposed reflects the heinous nature of the defendant’s horrific conduct. While nothing will make the victim’s family whole again, this sentence will protect the community from an offender who tortured and abused vulnerable victims.”

No kidding. At least justice has been served in this awful, awful case.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.

[Image via Ventura County District Attorney’s Office]