Killer who compared stabbing his aunt to carving Play-Doh gets lengthy sentence after courtroom outburst

A California man who brutally murdered his aunt amid tensions over a clogged toilet in their home, and then said the killing reminded him of carving Play-Doh, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison this week following a courtroom outburst directed at his relatives.

In April, Christopher Kaulaity was found guilty of the Dec. 7, 2024, death of Maria Carmen Torrez and to using a deadly weapon during the crime; however, a jury subsequently rejected his insanity claim.

Kaulaity recalled the killing when questioned by investigators, according to court documents.

"It kind of reminded me of when I was a kid again," he said. "Because when I was a kid, I used to carve these Play-Doh figures and use sticks to impale them."

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He said he held the knife to kill his aunt "butcher style," mentioning the fictional character Norman Bates from the film "Psycho."

During Wednesday's hearing inside a Bakersfield courtroom, Kaulaity lashed out at the victim’s sister and other family, saying: "I hope you rot in hell with your sister, b----," KGET-TV reported.

The killing occurred at the home where Torrez, 45, lived with seven other adult relatives. A day earlier, a family argument broke out between Kaulaity and his aunt over issues with the single toilet in the residence clogging.

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"Over the next 24 hours, tension built in the house and multiple family members warned Kaulaity that if problems continued, he and his adult sister would have to move out," the Kern County District Attorney's Office said.

On the day of the murder, Torrez was walking to the bathroom and passed Kaulaity in a hallway, where she called him a homophobic slur, prosecutors said.

"While the victim was in the bathroom, Kaulaity went to his bedroom where he retrieved pepper spray and a knife. Kaulaity then kicked open the bathroom door, pepper sprayed his aunt 'to blind her,' and then stabbed her repeatedly in her back and neck," according to the DA's office.

After the stabbing, Kaulaity called 911 and said he had just stabbed his aunt to death. Deputies responded and arrested him.

Kaulaity’s sister said her brother wanted to escape the toxic household, had submitted job applications, and had even considered returning to a homeless shelter, the report said.

During his trial, Kaulaity said he struggled through abuse and mental health issues throughout his life