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Season 5 episode 3 of Netflix's I Am a Killer focused on Higinio Gonzalez, who in an attempt to rob a convenience store, killed 27-year-old Eric Pavilionis in 1996 at the age of 16. Eric's death devastated his family of four daughters and his wife Fran, who continue to grieve him to date.
According to jail records, Higinio Gonzalez is serving a life sentence at the Montana State jail. He has been in prison for 27 and a half years, starting in 1997.
Higinio Gonzalez was sentenced to life in prison in 1997
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Gonzalez, at the age of 16, chose to follow in the footsteps of his father and older brother and became involved in the drug cartel business. Gonzalez sold meth to a couple of young females, as he revealed on I Am a Killer. One evening, these girls approached him for assistance, claiming they wanted to leave town, as one of the girls had an abusive father.
Higinio Gonzalez opted to rob a store to help them get out of town. The money Gonzalez would get from the crime could assist these girls in living a better life in another location. On April 22, 1996, Higinio Gonzalez and the girls drove to the store they wanted to rob and according to Gonzalez, one of the girls handed him an old Ruger 22 handgun.
Higinio Gonzalez also stated in I Am a Killer that he checked the handgun and discovered it was empty. He intended to frighten the cashier at the counter, steal the cash, and leave.
Eric Pavilionis, 27 years old, was the cashier at the counter on this day. Gonzalez walked into the store, picked up a Butterfinger candy, went to the counter, and paid for it. After this, he pulled out the gun and made Eric hand over whatever cash he had at the counter.
After this, Higinio asked Eric Pavilionis to open the safe. Eric responded by saying that he didn’t have the keys. When Eric didn’t open the safe, here is what Higinio Gonzalez did, as he recalls in I Am a Killer:
"I looked at the gun. You know, I went to, like, scare him, like I was gonna pull the trigger, and I remember it going off. And I just ran.”
Eric Pavilionis died from a bullet wound, while Higinio left the crime scene with $78 and a candy bar, which he purchased.
Arrest and sentencing
A day after Eric Pavilionis's death, Higinio was arrested from his home. He confessed to the crime when taken into custody, after which his murder trial began. He was just 16 at the time. On January 10, 1997, Gonzalez was sentenced to life in jail and charged with first-degree murder. He will be eligible for parole in 2027.
Talking about his parole, the victim Eric Pavilionis's wife revealed to viewers of I Am a Killer:
“When I think about Higinio Gonzalez being paroled, I feel that’s up to the judicial system to decide. And if he goes up for parole, I do believe myself and my children will attend just to hear what he has to say.”
To learn more about this case, watch episode 3 of I Am a Killer season 5, now streaming on Netflix.
