A Mother’s Will to Survive
Aguilar said she was determined to survive for her loved ones.
“I was thinking I have to stay alive for my baby, so we can be alive for my husband and my family,” she told the Times in 1994.
The perpetrator fled, and the survivor managed to call 911. She was transported to a hospital, where she was stabilized and able to recount the near-death experience to detectives.
Dressed to Kill
There was one thing about the incident that perplexed Aguilar.
Aside from the jarring gorilla mask, she recalled her attacker was dressed in her husband’s Oakland A’s T-shirt, watch and shoes, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
At first, she was in denial that her assistant golf pro spouse would ever cause harm to her and their unborn baby. Eighteen months into their marriage, they were on the cusp of welcoming their little bundle of joy, and Aguilar believed her husband was excited to become a dad.
But the evidence against West—including the unmistakable clothing and the weapon used to carry out the attack—was overwhelming, and the soon-to-be dad was arrested that same day when he attempted to visit Aguilar at the hospital.
West used a steak knife from their apartment in the murder attempt on his wife and forgetfully left the replacement knife he purchased in his car, police said.
“He cut me deep, and I don’t just mean with a knife,” Aguilar, then 23, told the Times days after West pleaded guilty to attempted murder. “He tried to kill that little boy. That beautiful little boy.”
‘Not Very Manly’
In a stunning move midway through his trial, just as the defense was getting ready to present, West, then 27, entered an admission of guilt in an Alameda County courtroom on April 12, 1994.
“I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. He’s always been such a coward,” Aguilar said, according to the News. “He wore a mask. He didn't show himself. I was surprised he admitted it.”
Aguilar called the admission “a manly thing to do, and he’s not very manly.”
West confessed that at the time of the assault, he was carrying on a year-long affair with 21-year-old snack shack attendant Leah Wright, who he worked alongside at the Sunol Valley Golf Course in Sunol, Calif.
“I gave into feelings I was somehow trapped,” he told the court, according to the Times. “I didn’t see that life was good.”
West promised Wright that he would leave his wife for her so they could start a life together.
An ‘Inconvenient’ Truth
As baby Ryan’s birth drew near, the father-to-be made the decision to try and kill his family.
“We were inconvenient for him,” Aguilar told the Chronicle.
Had one of the slashes against Aguilar’s throat been one-twentieth of an inch deeper, she would have bled to death, doctors determined, per the Times.
The new mom testified for two days during West’s trial, claiming that her husband was too “cowardly” to lock eyes with her when she took the stand.
“I looked at him to see if he had enough guts to look at me,” she said. “He didn't.”
The harrowing incident left Aguilar with recurring nightmares, frequent therapy visits and a gorilla and knife phobia.
“When Darren attacked me, he took a lot away from me that day,” Aguilar told the News. “He changed my life. He cut me very deeply, not just physically but emotionally. There is a part of me he did murder, and I don’t think that part can ever come back.”
Life Behind Bars
In April 1994, West was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after seven years.
Aguilar vowed to do everything in her power to keep him behind bars for the rest of his life.
“Anyone who plans the murder of his wife and child, he doesn’t deserve to get out,” she said.
At sentencing, West still had not met his son, who was 17 months old at the time.
“Darren doesn’t deserve to meet him,” Aguilar said. “He tried to kill the beautiful boy. He had everything in the world. He chose to throw it away.”
