- Christopher Trivino was sentenced to 180 days of jail on a charge of manslaughter in the 2022 shooting death of his wife, Jaycelin Trivino.
- He said he woke up up to "a dark figure approaching his bed" and shot her.
- Trivino's lawyer called the incident a tragic accident that continues to cause his client grief and trauma.
OGDEN — An Ogden man charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of his wife in 2022 has been sentenced to 180 days in jail.
Christopher Trivino, 30, was sentenced earlier this month by 2nd District Judge Joseph Bean after pleading no contest in the case in April. He was sentenced to a term of one to 15 years in prison, but the judge suspended that sentence and ordered the jail time. He was also sentenced to five years of probation.
Trivino shot his wife at the Ogden home they shared on Nov. 19, 2022, after waking up to "a dark figure approaching his bed," according to a statement he signed as part of his plea. The figure was his wife, Jaycelin Trivino, and she sustained a gunshot wound to her abdomen.
"Chris advised it was too dark to see, so he couldn't describe the figure that he saw. The figure did not say anything, and Chris did not say anything prior to pulling the trigger," reads the statement. Christopher Trivino slept with a gun, and he told authorities that his wife sometimes got up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water or go to the bathroom.
Jaycelin Trivino, 27, was an art teacher at Highland Junior High in Ogden. She had attended Weber High School and received a dance scholarship to Weber State University, according to her obituary.
According to a June 30 sentencing memo filed by Christopher Trivino's attorney, Blake Hamilton, the 2022 incident was a tragic accident that continues to cause Trivino grief and trauma. Manslaughter is a second-degree felony.
"He will never be free from the knowledge of what happened, and this awareness is a punishment in itself. His deep remorse and the steps he has taken to ensure that such an accident never happens again demonstrate his commitment to accountability and change," the memo reads.
Trivino's decision to get a gun, the memo said, "was influenced by paranoia, which combined with unsettling incidents prior to the accident, created a heightened state of fear influencing his actions." He agreed to the destruction of the gun involved in the incident and gave up the concealed weapons permit he had.
The man's life today is "marked by financial hardship, isolation and despair," reads the sentencing memo.
