Obel Cruz-Garcia was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for the murder of a six year old boy. According to court documents Obel Cruz-Garcia and Carmeno Martinez along with a third party who has not been identified forced there way into a home where they would sexually assault the child’s mother before abducting the child. The child skeletal remains would be found a month later. Obel Cruz-Garcia would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Obel Cruz-Garcia 2021 Information
| Name | Cruz-Garcia, Obel | |
| TDCJ Number | 999584 | |
| Date of Birth | 07/08/1967 | |
| Date Received | 11/01/2013 | |
| Age (when Received) | 46 | |
| Education Level (Highest Grade Completed) | 9th | |
| Date of Offense | 09/30/1992 | |
| Age (at the time of Offense) | 25 | |
| County | Harris | |
| Race | Hispanic | |
| Gender | Male | |
| Hair Color | Black | |
| Height (in Feet and Inches) | 5′ 11″ | |
| Weight (in Pounds) | 194 | |
| Eye Color | Brown | |
| Native County | Santo Domingo | |
| Native State | Dominican Republic |
Obel Cruz-Garcia More News
After deliberating four hours on Monday, Harris County jurors found Obel Cruz-Garcia guilty of capital murder in the 1992 death of 6-year-old Angelo Garcia Jr.
The boy’s mother, who was sitting in the gallery with family members, sobbed softly in her hands as the verdict was read. Cruz-Garcia did not react.
The conviction means the 45-year-old will face the death penalty or life in prison when the punishment phase of the trial begins Tuesday. Under 1992 law, when the crime occurred, Cruz-Garcia would be parole eligible after 35 years.
Both sides rested last week after four days of testimony. On Monday, defense lawyers argued that a lack of injuries on skeletal remains, the possibility of consensual sex with the victim’s mother and the absence of motive point away from Cruz-Garcia’s culpability.
“There was no reason for Obel Cruz-Garcia to do this. He gained nothing from it,” attorney Skip Cornelius told jurors in closing arguments. “There’s lots of reasonable doubt in this case.”
Prosecutors fired back that the defense was talking in half-truths and pointing at straw men.
“I have to be responsible for the whole story, not just a part of the story,” said Assistant Harris County District Attorney Natalie Tise. “There’s a whole lot of missing pieces in what the defense has said.”
Cruz-Garcia, 45, was convicted of kidnapping and killing Angelo, whose parents said they were part of the defendant’s cocaine-trafficking operation.
During a home invasion just before midnight on Sept. 30, 1992, two men wearing ski masks broke into the south Houston apartment where Angelo lived with his mother and stepfather.
One of the men allegedly sexually assaulted his mother, then they tied the couple up and ransacked the home. They fled with Angelo in a car driven by a third man, who testified thatCruz-Garcia and the other suspect took the child to a Baytown lake where he was stabbed and his body was weighted down.
A month later, the child’s badly decomposed remains were found in the water. The defense pointed out that no injuries were apparent from the bones that were found. They also pointed out that the getaway driver could be lying to save himself from a capital murder charge. He is not charged in the crime.
Prosecutors said other evidence, including Cruz-Garcia’s DNA being found during the woman’s sexual assault examination, corroborated the getaway driver’s story.
