‘May god have mercy on your soul’: Man sentenced in girlfriend’s shooting death at Fremont hotel

Nolan Hurd, 26, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the voluntary manslaughter of his girlfriend Nikha Marcella DeGuzman, who died from a gunshot wound at a Fremont hotel in January 2022. The case, which involved a mistrial and a plea deal, saw the judge question Hurd's remorse as the victim's family expressed grief and anger over the sentence.

Getting your Trinity Audio //trinityaudio.ai player ready...An Alameda County man received an 11-year term in prison Tuesday in a case that long revolved around a central question https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/07/08/murder-or-suicide-dueling-views-hinge-on-911-call-gunshot-residue-in-shooting-at-fremont-hotel/ : Did he murder his girlfriend during an argument at a Fremont hotel, or did she turn the .40-caliber gun on herself? Nolan Hurd, 26, sat silent and unflinching while being handed the sentence by Superior Court Judge Jennifer Madden Ragland, who openly questioned the man’s remorse in the January 2022 death of his girlfriend, Nikha Marcella DeGuzman. It marked the final chapter in a case that included a mistrial last summer https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/08/12/jury-delivers-verdict-in-fremont-case-debated-as-murder-or-suicide/ , followed by Hurd’s recent plea of no contest to voluntary manslaughter. As part of the plea deal struck last month, Alameda County prosecutors agreed to dismiss two other cases Hurd racked up while behind bars, including assault charges stemming from the brutal beating and stabbing https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/07/04/da-east-bay-womans-boyfriend-trained-her-to-take-the-fall-for-his-crimes-even-after-he-killed-her/ of another Santa Rita Jail inmate. Hurd was seen fist-bumping another attacker moments after deputies intervened, Madden Ragland said. “I don’t know if you will be the kind of person who goes to prison and tries to make changes,” the judge said, addressing Hurd directly. “Or I don’t know if you see this as some kind of a flex, for lack of a better word, that you got 11 years, as opposed to maybe the amount of time that you should be getting.” Madden Ragland said she only signed off on the deal after seeing how intensely prosecutors and Hurd’s attorney litigated the case. Hurd will begin his sentence with nearly five years of credit for time served. Several of DeGuzman’s friends and family wanted a harsher punishment. For an hour Tuesday, more than a dozen of DeGuzman’s friends and family openly wept while recalling her as a “goofy” young woman, prolific makeup artist and loyal friend “who genuinely cared about the people in her life.” “There is an empty place where Nikha should be,” said her grandmother, Arlene Velasquez. “Our family lost someone whose life was only beginning. No punishment can restore a future she was denied, or heal a pain her death has caused.” At times, that grief turned to vitriolic anger. Anabel Velasquez, who attended every court hearing and described herself during the trial as a second mother to DeGuzman, told the judge Tuesday she felt “devastated” by the plea deal. She understood why prosecutors — who worked “tirelessly on the case” — struck a deal. Even so, she said the prison sentence felt “profoundly disproportionate” to the loss her family suffered. Sitting mere feet from Hurd, Velasquez assailed him as “a pathetic human being, a straight coward so consumed by power and control that when Nikha challenged him, and saw through him, he snapped. “May god have mercy on your soul, because after what you did to her, I have none left to give.” For years, questions lingered over whether DeGuzman, 20, died by homicide or suicide. On the evening of Jan. 27, 2022, guests of Fremont’s Good Nite Inn reported hearing an argument between a man and a woman, followed by a single gunshot. A minute or two passed before anyone began calling for help, the neighbors told investigators, adding they saw DeGuzman run or crawl naked from the room, while Hurd tried to pull her back by the waist. When Hurd phoned 911, he could be heard yelling, “My girlfriend just shot herself,” along with “she shot herself in the head,” and “stay with me, stay with me, baby,” according to court testimony. Meanwhile, DeGuzman wailed in the background. At trial, Alameda County prosecutor Michiye Vella told jurors that Hurd used fear and even physical violence to bend DeGuzman to his will, as part of a “toxic” relationship. Hurd was the only one with gunshot residue on his hands after the shooting, Vella said. And the trajectory of the fatal bullet — which entered through the lower back left side of DeGuzman’s head and exited out the conch of her left ear — eliminated the possibility of DeGuzman shooting herself, the prosecutor claimed. Yet Hurd took the uncommon step of taking the stand in his defense — breaking down in tears while describing his shock at emerging from the hotel’s bathroom that night to see DeGuzman holding the gun and refusing to make eye contact with him. Hurd testified that he tried to disarm DeGuzman — who had previously been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and had a history of suicide attempts — and then scrambled to call 911 after the gun went off. After days of deliberation, the jury failed to reach a verdict. Nine jurors favored finding Hurd guilty of second-degree murder, while eight thought he was guilty of involuntary manslaughter, according to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. In a statement read aloud in court Tuesday, Hurd’s aunt lamented how “we all lost someone that day, not just Nikki’s family.” She recalled being close to DeGuzman herself, adding “I miss our long talks.” “You were a part of our family, like the diamond you are up there,” said the aunt, Tiffany Pantohan. “As this case comes to a close, I hope this brings peace not only to my family, but to hers as well.” Sitting in yellow jail garb and shackled at his hands and feet, Hurd himself briefly spoke up near the end of his hearing — vowing that “I will be spending the remainder of my sentence in preparation to become rehabilitated.” “Most importantly, here today, I’d like to to apologize for any pain I caused those in this courtroom,” Hurd added. By that time, the judge had already cast doubt on his sincerity. Moments earlier, she questioned whether any of the tearful pleas and remembrances uttered by DeGuzman’s family and friends truly registered with him. “I don’t have much confidence that those words will penetrate Mr. Hurd and make a difference,” the judge said. “I always try to see the best in human beings. But I’m not sure, Mr. Hurd, that you really heard the words — that you understand what this family has been through.” Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.