Abraham Feinbloom to be sentenced today in T’Neya Tovar’s killing. Here is how the case got here

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KESQ) Abraham Feinbloom, the Salton City man who pleaded no contest to torturing and killing 17-year-old T'Neya Tovar, is set to be sentenced this morning in Imperial County Superior Court in El Centro.

The 51-year-old faces 13 years to life in state prison under the deal: seven to life for torture, plus six years for voluntary manslaughter. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the murder charge at sentencing only if investigators first recovered "portions of the victim's torso and head," according to the plea form.

A day after the plea, investigators recovered a skull and ribcage in a wash off Treadwell Boulevard in Salton City, according to the District Attorney's Office. DNA testing still had to confirm the remains are T'Neya's. No result has been announced.

District Attorney George Marquez told News Channel 3 the deal came down to a life sentence and to T'Neya's parents, who told him they wanted to bury their daughter. "Torture gives us the life sentence," Marquez said.

T'Neya, of Hemet, called her mother Dec. 1, 2025, and said she was on her way to Palm Springs. She was reported missing that day. An FBI agent later testified a friend dropped her off at Feinbloom's boarded-up home on Harlequin Court. Her parents went to the house with deputies four times in December. Nobody answered, and nobody went inside.

On Dec. 21, deputies found a human leg less than a mile from the home. DNA matched it to T'Neya on Feb. 6, the same day FBI agents searched the house. A week later, a SWAT team came back. Feinbloom jumped a fence and was arrested. He pleaded not guilty to murder. Court records uncovered by News Channel 3 showed he was charged with kidnapping in Imperial County in 2018. That case was dismissed.

Charro Tovar told News Channel 3 she gave deputies Feinbloom's name and address in December and learned of his arrest from the news, not from investigators.

At a preliminary hearing in April, an FBI agent testified T'Neya's phone was traced to the house, investigators collected saws and blades there, and Feinbloom told agents he did not know her. A judge sent the case to trial. On Sept. 18, defense attorney Melanie Roe said she was ready for trial. Ten days later, Feinbloom took the deal.

This story will be updated after the sentence is handed down.