Man sentenced to life in prison for murdering Paso Robles woman

February 24, 2022

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

A San Luis Obispo judge has sentenced a North County man to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of a popular Paso Robles hairdresser.

Nancy Woodrum, 62, who operated The Strand salon in downtown Paso Robles, went missing in May 2018. In Dec. 2018, investigators determined DNA evidence in the case matched Carlo Alberto Fuentes Flores, a painter whom Woodrum hired to do work at her home. Fuentes Flores then led investigators to Woodrum’s body in a rural area off Highway 58 in eastern SLO County.

Fuentes Flores, 44, waived his right to a jury trial. In January, Superior Court Judge Timothy Covello found Flores guilty of first-degree murder along with enhancements for committing the crime amid a rape and burglary.

The enhancements to the murder conviction required that Fuentes Flores be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“Life in prison without the possibility of parole is an appropriate and just punishment for the brutal abuse and murder of Nancy Woodrum,” District Attorney Dan Dow said in a statement. “Our hearts remain with the Woodrum family and her loved ones who will always suffer the pain of her loss.”