Daniel Saligan Patricio, 24, admitted to striking Matthew Chachere, 39, and Jennifer Besser, 36, with his car on Nov. 21, 2022.
Chachere and Besser were found dead the next day under dense brush near the intersection of Sacramento Drive and Basil Lane, several hours after police received a report of a dead dog in the creekbed.
Detectives testified that Saligan Patricio was texting and driving and had admitted to drinking alcohol earlier that day. Data pulled from his car showed he accelerated from 45 mph five seconds before he hit Chachere and Besser at 61 miles per hour.
The responding officers previously testified there was not evidence that the couple had been hit at the time of the crash and no evidence to suggest Saligan Patricio was under the influence of alcohol.
Family members had reported them missing after they failed to arrive in Modesto for Thanksgiving. The two both worked for E.&J. Gallo Winery and had moved to San Luis Obispo in May 2022.
Pati Blevins, Besser’s mother, told the court she was left “broken” after the loss of her daughter.
“Losing Jenn broke me,” she said. “It should have killed me. It would have been easier.”
After the family members gave their victim impact statements, Saligan Patricio apologized to the family.
“I just want to express my deepest apologies and condolences to the Besser and Chachere families and friends,” he told the family. “I know I can’t comprehend the pain and suffering. I know I can’t undo the tragedy that I have caused as much as I wish every day that I could. For this I want to say I am sorry.”
Saligan Patricio pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular manslaughter on Feb. 20.
San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Michael Frye said he found the defendant had expressed remorse throughout the court process, but while it was not his intention to kill anyone when he drove, Saligan Patricio was driving in a “grossly negligent” manner that resulted in the loss of two lives. He said the fact the Saligan Patricio threw a half-full tequila bottle into the creek after the crash could indicate his state of mind but did not prove he was drinking.
Frye ultimately sentenced him to 5 years and 4 months in state prison after about an hour-long court hearing.
Defense attorney Ilan Funke-Bilu told The Tribune this case was “exhibit A of a tragedy” with good people on both sides.
The couple, who had been together for 11 years, were honored in October with a memorial plaque on the bridge where they died.
Family: Loss has changed lives forever
Several of Besser’s and Chachere’s family members shared how the loss of their loved ones impacted their lives.
Nicole Matthews, Chachere’s sister, said she was texting with Besser just before they left on their walk. Besser was asking what they should bring for Thanksgiving and she responded “don’t overthink it, just bring whatever,” to which Besser sarcastically responded, “I hate packing.”
As Matthews boarded a plane with her children to visit their family in Modesto for the holiday, she had no idea that would be Besser’s final text. Her kids were excited to see their aunt and uncle and meet their new rescue dog, Buddy.
Matthews grew more concerned as time went on without hearing from her brother or Besser. When Besser and Chachere’s apartment complex said their cars were still parked in the lot, she went into a “severe panic.”
She said she texted all of their friends and called hospitals trying to locate the two. She filed a missing persons report and then just had to wait.
“Those long hours will haunt me for the rest of my life,” Matthews said. “It was Wednesday, Nov. 23, at 5:30 a.m. when our lives changed forever.”
That’s when the phone rang, and an officer told Matthews her brother and Besser had been found dead in a creekbed.
“The wave of pain was so intense my body collapsed to the floor,” Matthews said. “To look into my (children’s) innocent eyes and say that their uncle Matt and Jenn are gone is by far the worst moment of my life.”
Linda Chachere, Matthew Chachere’s mother, told the court she lost a part of her life forever when her son and Besser were killed.
They were a close family who celebrated everything together, from holidays to game nights and cooking favorite foods.
She said Christmastime was a favorite for Besser, who would always ensure favorite dishes were on the menu for the holiday season.
Matthew was a “bright light but never wanted to outshine others,” Linda said, and cared for everyone around him.
Now she wakes up in the middle of the night in tears, is managing feelings of depression and is fearful when her husband drives.
“Matthew was my great comfort,” she said. “Remembering hits me like a freight train. It’s a nightmare I will never wake up from. He was the light of my life.”
Pati Blevins, Besser’s mother, she said she knew Matthew was her daughter’s person as soon as they met, and together they lived a magnificent life.
They were excited to move to San Luis Obispo in May 2022 and begin a new chapter together with their dog. She said they walked that same route four times a day.
“You made choices that day that altered all our lives forever,” she told Saligan Patricio during her statement. “You made choices that went against your religion and the law.”
She said they’ll never know if he was angry, fighting with his wife, tired or hungover when he got behind the wheel that day, but that the “single act” of driving recklessly “took the lives of their two innocent kids.”
The loss has made it so she can’t drive at night or walk her dog on public streets, she said. She found it too difficult to work and had to take an early retirement and is managing new triggers in her life.
“My therapist says this is normal, but I don’t feel normal,” she said.
Ernest Chachere, Matthew’s father, said he and his son were extremely close. The two loved football and enjoyed the same sports teams. Watching games or playing golf would bring them together and lead to deeper conversations about career, life and family aspirations.
He said he can’t explain the horror he feels when he remembers his son being violently “catapulted” into the creekbed, only to lay there under dense brush for two days. If it weren’t for his daughter’s missing persons report, he said, police told him the two wouldn’t have been found for months.
“Matt and Jenn’s lives, dreams and future, along with our entire family, were destroyed in one shattering instant,” he said. “No father has a plan for this. For the first time as a husband and father, I have felt rudderless.”
Michael Besser, Jennifer’s brother, read a statement on behalf of Jennifer’s father, John Besser, who died before the sentencing hearing.
In the statement, John said the birthday card he sent his daughter was found unopened in her mailbox after her death.
Losing his daughter was a nightmare, and all that he had were questions that could never be answered.
He asked Frye to imagine not being able to see or hug his child, or hear their voice ever again.
Michael said his father died not knowing justice in his daughter’s case, and the disdain he holds for the defendant is “biblical in scale.” He asked Frye to hold Saligan Patricio accountable.
“Even if he gets the max,” he said, “where is justice when comparing to the 100 years of life lost?”