Fresno man gets 31 years to life for mother’s beating death
Brad Ramirez was sentenced to 31 years to life for killing his mother, Shirla Ramirez, after a Fresno case that also exposed his history of mental illness and insanity findings.
Brad Ramirez was escorted into Fresno County Superior Court by extra security on Friday and sentenced to 31 years to life in prison for beating his mother, Shirla Ramirez, to death in central Fresno. The ruling capped a case that moved from a welfare check on Cortland Avenue to a homicide arrest, then through a mental-health defense that had already defined parts of Ramirez’s criminal record.
In practice, 31 years to life means Ramirez must serve at least 31 years before he can be considered for parole, and even then he remains under state custody unless and until the parole process grants release. The sentence also included an order for treatment before prison time, reflecting the court’s view that the case involved both punishment and psychiatric issues.
Police arrested Brad Ramirez, then 35, on Jan. 22, 2025, two days after Shirla Ramirez, 62, was found dead at her home after coworkers reported she had not shown up for work. Officers responded to the central Fresno residence on Cortland Avenue for a welfare check and found her body inside. Investigators also said Shirla Ramirez’s vehicle was involved in a collision and California Highway Patrol personnel located Brad Ramirez near the scene.
Court records show Ramirez had been arrested several times in 2016 for felony assault and was found not guilty by reason of insanity in that earlier case before being sent to a state hospital in San Bernardino County. ABC30 later reported that the court had previously found him not guilty by reason of insanity and identified him as schizophrenic. Last month, Ramirez changed his plea to no contest, clearing the way for Friday’s sentencing.
Prosecutor Kelly Smith said Ramirez was supposed to be having dinner with his mother when the killing happened, underscoring how the case turned on a family relationship rather than a stranger dispute. Commissioner Daniel Brickey expressed condolences to the family as the hearing ended, and the appearance of Ramirez in court under heavy security reflected the gravity of the crime and the uncertainty that has shadowed the case from the start.
The sentence closes one chapter in a prosecution that has forced Fresno County to confront a recurring question in violent cases involving mental illness: where criminal responsibility ends and long-term psychiatric custody begins.
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