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SAN FERNANDO (CNS) - A 26-year-old man was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years in state prison in connection with the January 2017 death of his uncle, whose body has never been found.
Daniel Cierzan pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and admitted dumping the body of his 58-year-old uncle, William Cierzan, in a trash bin in the Soledad Canyon area, according to Deputy District Attorney Tannaz Mokayef.
The defendant contended that his uncle had punched him in the face during an argument and that he turned around and hit the older man, who he said fell and may have struck his head, according to the prosecutor.
William Cierzan -- a Magic Mountain employee -- disappeared from his home in Santa Clarita on Jan. 26, 2017, shortly after speaking with his wife, who found him gone when she arrived home about three hours later, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Investigators subsequently found blood inside the house and inside his nephew's vehicle, but were not able to find the victim's body, according to the prosecutor.
The victim's nephew was arrested in July 2020 and has remained behind bars since then.
He was initially charged with murder, which was dismissed as a result of the plea agreement, Mokayef said.