Case Explained: PA man gets 2 life sentences for killing wife, sister-in-law after argument over dinner – Legal Perspective

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) — A judge handed down two life sentences to a West Hempfield Township man who killed his estranged wife and sister-in-law following an argument over who would make dinner.

Santiago Payano-Sanchez, 64, pleaded guilty Friday to shooting the two women to death, along with shooting and seriously injuring his 33-year-old son, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office.

A judge sentenced Payano-Sanchez to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole followed by 20 to 40 years in state prison for the deaths of his wife, Ana Gutierrez-Cedano, 59, and his sister-in-law, Dominga Cedano-Cedano, 74.

The deadly shooting happened Oct. 5, 2025, at Payano-Sanchez’s home on Oak Hollow Drive.

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According to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office, it all happened following a household argument about who would make dinner. During the argument, Payano-Sanchez got a gun and shot Gutierrez-Cedano, who was in a wheelchair.

Payano-Sanchez then shot his son, who had tried to wrestle the gun away from him.

Then, Payano-Sanchez went upstairs and shot Cedano-Cedano to death.

The district attorney’s office said two kids, ages 2 and 7, were also home at the time. They weren’t hurt.

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Payano-Sanchez spoke to the court through an interpreter and was unable to explain why the argument escalated, but he begged his family for forgiveness and wished them peace, according to the district attorney.

He reportedly said, “I need to face what the law is imposing on me.”

The district attorney’s office reported that Cedano-Cedano’s daughter wrote a letter to the court that said her mother’s death “has left a void that can never be filled,” and “Our family will carry this trauma for the rest of our lives.”

Payano-Sanchez pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal homicide, one count of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, and possession of an instrument of crime.

The judge also ordered him to pay more than $11,000 in restitution. He is also to have no contact with his family.