Berks Taxi Driver Killer Learns His Sentence

The Reading man who stabbed a cab driver to death will spend decades in a Pennsylvania state prison, authorities say.

Johnny Palaguachi (left) previously pleaded guilty to killing taxi driver Darlyn De La Rosa-Abreu (right).
Photo Credit: *Berks County District Attorney's Office // Facebook/Darlyn De La Rosa-Abreu*

03/17/2023 4:41 p.m.

Johnny Palaguachi, 28, was sentenced to 20 to 40 years behind bars on Wednesday, March 15, said Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams in a statement.

He had previously pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, the DA's office noted.

Investigators have said that on Aug. 8, 2021, Palaguachi called for a cab and was picked up by taxi driver Darlyn De La Rosa-Abreu. The pair got into a "verbal altercation" before Palaguachi attacked De La Rosa-Abreu, "stab(bing) him with an object several times in the neck," DA Adams said.

The victim's remains were discovered near Old Church Road in North Heidelberg Township in May 2022, almost a year after De La Rosa-Abreu's appearance, as Daily Voice reported.

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