FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, Oct. 2, 2026
Contact: Tony Mangan, Communications Director, 605-773-6878
PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces a South Dakota Circuit Court has ruled a woman sentenced to prison for murder received effective defense counsel.
Maricela Diaz and Alexander Salgado were accused of killing Jasmine Guevarra in 2009 in a rural area of Hanson County. Salgado was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
Diaz, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime, was tried in adult court. She was convicted by a Minnehaha County Jury of First Degree Murder, Felony Murder Arson, First Degree Arson, Felony Murder Aggravated Kidnapping, and Second Degree Aggravated Kidnapping. She received an 80-year prison sentence for First Degree Murder and a concurrent 50-year sentence for Second-Degree Aggravated Kidnapping.
South Dakota’s Supreme Court upheld the murder conviction.
Diaz filed a Habeas Corpus petition in Hanson County Circuit Court stating that she did not receive effective defensive counsel. An evidentiary hearing on her request was held in that court this past February.
The court ruled that Diaz failed to show that her counsel’s performance was deficient or deprived her of a fair trial.
“Diaz was not convicted due to any error of her trial counsel. She was convicted because the evidence of her role in this murder was conclusive,” said Attorney General Jackley. “This ruling brings this case a step closer to final justice for Jasmine and her family.”
The Attorney General’s Office represented the State at the Circuit Court hearing.
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