General Hospital star Johnny Wactor’s murder case advances after prosecutors announce new direction

The loss of Johnny Wactor still sits heavily on the General Hospital community. Wactor, only 37, was shot and killed in a way that was senseless, sudden, and the kind of violence that doesn’t offer anyone a clear explanation. Now, according to ABC7 news in Los Angeles, prosecutors have announced a new turn in the case — one that reshapes how the trial ahead will unfold.

Inside the General Hospital tragedy that won’t let go

Prosecutors made one thing clear: they’re not going after the death penalty for 19-year-old Robert Isaiah Barceleau, the kid accused of pulling the trigger the night Wactor never made it home. He’s still staring down life without parole, plus the charge from the catalytic converter heist they allegedly pulled off barely a half-hour earlier. And right beside him is 19-year-old Sergio Estrada — same night, same mess — but without the extra special-circumstance weight prosecutors hung on Barceleau.

A few minutes on the stand cracked the night open wider than anyone wanted, and suddenly the story sounded darker…like the room got a little colder when the details finally landed. LAPD Detective Justin Howarth told the court that Barceleau admitted in a jailhouse sting that he had “shot Wactor once,” claiming he fired because the actor was “going after the homie.”

In a separate conversation with an undercover operative, Estrada allegedly said he shouted “No” the moment he saw Barceleau pull the gun. Detectives testified that Estrada described Barceleau as “hot-headed” and confessed he hadn’t even wanted to be out with him that night.

Investigators also revealed that both teens were photographed hours after the killing — Barceleau holding a semi-automatic firearm, Estrada posing with a stack of cash. Two other men charged with lesser offenses connected to the theft have already been sentenced. And while fingerprints belonging to multiple suspects were found on the floor jack left beside Wactor’s Prius, print experts testified that there was no way to determine when those prints were made. (Find out more about Wactor’s GH character, Brando Corbin.)

What Comes Next for the Case

Barceleau and Estrada are still claiming not guilty and will be back in court on January 14. Wactor died protecting his co-worker Anita Joy. When he was shot, she asked him if he was okay, and his last words were, “Nope. Shot.”

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And everything since then — the undercover stings, the prints on the jack, the grainy surveillance, all the quiet detective work — sits on top of a moment that lasted barely a heartbeat. Prosecutors keep tuning their approach, tightening the screws, but the point never changes: someone took a life that shouldn’t have been taken. And whatever happens in that courtroom, Johnny Wactor’s presence — the work he did, the people he moved — is going to outlast all of this. (What was Wactor’s final film before he died?)

General Hospital can be seen weekdays on ABC and Hulu.

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