texas | My Crime Library

Ariel Cruz Charged In Idania Campos Murder

Nineteen year old Ariel Cruz has been charged with the murder of missing twenty one year old college student Idania Campos

According to court documents Idania Campos would drop off her sisters at school and was not heard from again. Ariel Cruz who had been at the family home over the weekend consoling the family over missing Idania Campos. However when the family discovered the body of Idania Campos in the trunk of their vehicle Ariel Cruz was soon arrested

Once Ariel Cruz was in custody he would confess to the murder of Idania Campos

Ariel Cruz Videos

Ariel Cruz Case

An arrest has been made after a family made a devastating discovery while looking for a loved one who disappeared on Tuesday. A 21-year-old woman’s body was found inside the trunk of her own car in Houston, Texas.

According to court records, 19-year-old Ariel Cruz has been arrested and charged with murder. Documents say he shot and killed his girlfriend, Idania Campos.

Family members told ABC Houston affiliate KTRK that Cruz was at the scene, consoling the family, for most of the day on Tuesday while police investigated. They described Cruz as a good friend of the woman, and said he was at the family’s house over the weekend. Houston police described the victim as Cruz’s girlfriend.

According to Cruz’s bail motion, he killed the woman because she broke up with him in the past.

The family said Cruz was taken into custody for questioning, and investigators called them early Wednesday morning to say he had confessed to his girlfriend’s death and was charged with murder

He was booked into the Harris County, Texas Jail around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. His bond was set at $600,000.

Houston police said the woman’s family tracked her phone to the Meyerland area on Tuesday, leading them to her car.

Investigators asked anyone who lives in Meyerland, to check their security cameras between 8:20 a.m. and 1:40 p.m. Tuesday.

The woman’s family told HPD they couldn’t get ahold of her after they last saw her in bed around 7 a.m. and the woman’s mother last spoke to her around 8:20 a.m.

The victim shares her phone’s location with a friend, so her family used that information to track her phone down. That’s when they discovered her parked car.

The family called police, but investigators said nothing seemed suspicious and the car didn’t look like it had been broken into. The victim’s phone was just sitting inside.

HPD officers took a missing person’s report and left the scene.

“Of course, if the family thought she was in the car, of course they would have made forced entry, but at this point, they just thought it was left there. Nobody at that point thought she was inside the trunk,” Lt. Alias Smith said

Meanwhile, the woman’s family stayed at the scene and called a locksmith to get inside the car. HPD said it was taking the locksmith a while to arrive, so the victim’s father decided to break a window to get inside the car around 5:40 p.m.

The family popped the trunk, and that’s when they discovered the woman’s body. HPD then returned to the scene.

Investigators said they found blood in the trunk. HPD said the victim had signs of trauma to her face, but noted that they didn’t find any shell casings at the scene.

Police did not immediately identify the victim.

Smith said it’s her opinion that the woman was killed somewhere else and then left in her car on Indigo Street. Police said her family lives about 30 minutes away from the area.

https://abc7chicago.com/houston-police-body-found-ariel-cruz-tx/14117642/

Frank Deleon Jr Murders Diamond Alvarez

Frank Deleon Jr was a seventeen year old teen killer from Texas who would fatally shoot his ex girlfriend Diamond Alvarez

According to police reports Frank Deleon Jr and Diamond Alvarez, 16, had broken up recently after she learned that Frank was cheating on her with another woman. Deleon would set up a meeting at a park where Diamond Alvarez was walking her dog. The teen killer would shoot the young woman over twenty times causing her death

Frank Deleon Jr would be arrested and would ultimately plead guilty and be sentenced to forty five years in prison with no chance of parole for 22 years

Frank DeLeon Jr Videos

Frank Deleon Jr Case

Chaos filled the courtroom Tuesday morning after a murder suspect pleaded guilty to killing his teenage girlfriend last year.

Frank DeLeon Jr., 19, agreed to spend 45 years in prison for the January 2022 murder of Diamond Alvarez, who officials say was 16 years old at the time.

DeLeon was out on bond while the case made its way through the courts. The trial was supposed to start Monday, but he did not show up after defense attorneys said he was involved in a car accident on his way to the courthouse and had to go to the hospital.

Because he was not in court Monday, an arrest warrant was issued and DeLeon was taken into custody later that day. He appeared in court Tuesday morning shackled with his arm in a sling.

Moments after Anna Machado, Diamond’s mother, gave an impact statement to the court on Tuesday, she and another family member rushed toward DeLeon before being restrained.

ABC13 cameras were rolling when the trouble started just after Diamond’s mother, Anna Machado, gave a victim’s impact statement on the stand. In her comments, she called DeLeon a monster, saying his mother, who was in the gallery, had raised him to be that way.

After that, Machado and another family member rushed toward DeLeon before being restrained by court officials.

The fight lasted for a few minutes before order was restored and the courtroom cleared.

During a press conference after the hearing, the district attorney did not take questions about the fighting, just detailing what’s next in the case.

Machado, on the other hand, apologized for her actions during court. Family members said they were satisfied with the 45 years.

On Thursday, there will be a formal sentencing and Diamond’s aunt is planned to give an impact statement.

DeLeon will not be eligible for parole for at least 22 and a half years.

https://abc13.com/diamond-alvarez-frank-deleon-jr-murder-suspect-guilty-plea/13928636/

Billy Chemirmir Serial Killer Murdered In Prison

Billy Chemirmir who was a suspected serial killer from Texas was the victim of a prison murder

According to court documents Billy Chemirmir was convicted of two murders however was suspected of murdering twenty two elderly women in the Dallas area who lived in Senior Living Housing. Billy would break into the residence where he would smother the elderly women. Finally a 91 year old woman would call 911 after escaping from the serial killer which would eventually lead to his arrest where he was charged with dozens of crimes including twenty two counts of murder

Eventually Billy Chemirmir would be convicted of two murders and was serving two life sentences without parole at the Coffield Unit in Tennessee Colony near Palestine. Prison officials have not released a ton of details other than Billy was found dead in his cell and his cellmate was the main suspect in the murder

Billy Chemirmir News

Billy Chemirmir, a man convicted of killing two people and accused in the deaths of nearly two dozen others, was found dead in his cell in a Texas state prison early Tuesday morning, NBC 5 has learned.

Charged with killing 22 North Texas women over a two-year span, Chemirmir was found guilty of capital murder in October 2022 in the death of 87-year-old Mary Brooks. His first trial, for the murder of Lu Thi Harris, ended in a mistrial. Chemirmir was later convicted of the murder charge.

Chemirmir, 50, had been serving two prison sentences of life without parole in the Coffield Unit in Tennessee Colony near Palestine.

Officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Chemirmir was found deceased in his cell early Tuesday. The TDCJ said Chemirmir’s cellmate, who is serving a sentence for murder out of Dallas County, was identified as the assailant.

No further details about Chemirmir’s death have been confirmed and the TDCJ said the Office of Inspector General is investigating Chemirmir’s death.

The families of Chemirmir’s victims were notified of his death early Tuesday.

On Tuesday afternoon, some of the family members of Chemirmir’s victims said they were relieved to learn of his death.

“My mother died in fear. This man did not have a peaceful passing. There’s some relief in feeling that he didn’t get off easily,” said Shannon Dion, whose 92-year-old mother, Doris Gleason, was among those Chemirmir was charged with killing.

Chemirmir was caught after a 91-year-old woman survived a 2018 attack and told police a man had forced his way into her apartment at an independent living community for seniors, tried to smother her with a pillow and took her jewelry.

Police said they found Chemirmir the following day in the parking lot of his apartment complex holding jewelry and cash, having just thrown away a large red jewelry box. Documents in the jewelry box led them to the home of Harris who was found dead in her bedroom.

Prosecutors said the suspected serial killer targeted people inside their homes or at senior independent living centers, smothering them with pillows to steal jewelry.

Most of the deaths were initially ruled natural causes, despite families reporting odd circumstances and stolen jewelry. It wasn’t until a woman survived an attack on her life, leading police to Chemirmir that the cases were reopened and indictments were filed.

Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot planned to secure two convictions before dismissing the remaining cases. Earlier this summer Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said he did not plan to try the nine capital murder indictments his office had against Chemirmir.

Billy Chemirmir was the subject of an NBC 5 streaming series, “Stranger at the Door,” that looked into the dozens of deaths attributed to Billy Chemirmir. The series can be watched online here or on TV following the instructions below.

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/convicted-killer-billy-chemirmir-dies-in-texas-prison/3341467/

Facundo Chavez Sentenced To Death In Texas

Facundo Chavez was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for the murder of a police officer

According to court documents Facundo Chavez was pulled over on a traffic stop by El Paso County sheriff deputy, Peter Herrera. Chavez would open fire on the Officer striking the Officer several times. Chavez would leave the scene after striking the fallen Officer. Peter Herrera would die from his injuries in hospital

Facundo Chavez was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Facundo Chavez Now

Facundo Chavez was just sentenced to death, August 10 2023

Facundo Chavez Case

An El Paso jury has returned a death penalty sentence for the man convicted of killing El Paso Sheriff Deputy Peter Herrera during a 2019 traffic stop.

Facundo Chavez, 32, will be put to death after a jury of nine women and three men reached the sentencing decision Wednesday. Jurors deliberated for nearly 10 hours over two days.

The same jury convicted Chavez of capital murder of a peace officer on Aug. 3 in connection with the 2019 slaying of Herrera.

Judge Diane Navarrete, who presided over the trial, warned everyone against any outbursts in the courtroom. Spectators remained quiet when the verdict was read aloud.

Chavez had no visible reaction to the jury’s actions.

El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks, who had been in and out of the courtroom throughout the trial, sat at the prosecutor’s table for the verdict.

Herrera was facing either the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole

The trial, which began on July 26, is being held in the Criminal District Court 1 at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse in Downtown El Paso.

Chavez was accused of brutally shooting and beating Herrera during a traffic stop about 1:50 a.m. on March 22, 2019, in the 1000 block of Chicken Ranch Road, near Socorro Road in San Elizario.

Herrera pulled over Chavez and his girlfriend, Arlene Piña, over for two traffic violations. The violations were from failing to dim high-beam headlights and improperly displaying a temporary license plate permit.

Herrera asked Chavez to stop of the vehicle. He got out of the car and immediately pulled out a handgun and shot at Herrera.

Chavez fired about 15 rounds from the handgun at Herrera at point-blank range before the gun then jammed.

Chavez then began beating Herrera with the gun.

The couple fled the scene as Herrera laid mortally wounded and in a pool of his own blood.

Another arrived at the scene and began performing first aid on Herrera to try to stop the bleeding. Herrera was then taken to Del Sol Medical Center.

Herrera died at the hospital two days later.

Chavez and Piña were later found by U.S. Border Patrol agents hiding in a shed on the property of a nearby house, according to testimony.

The graphic videos from Herrera’s body camera and patrol vehicle’s dashboard camera, along with another deputy’s body camera, during the shooting were shown to jurors several times throughout the trial

Chavez took the stand twice during the trial and confessed to the crime during his testimony.

“I shot Deputy Herrera. I beat him with a gun,” Chavez testified.

Piña was originally charged with capital murder. However, the charge was reduced to manslaughter in a plea deal made with former El Paso District Attorney Yvonne Rosales. Piña is serving a 15-year prison sentence.

https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/crime/2023/08/09/man-sentenced-to-death-for-shooting-of-el-paso-county-sheriff/70557778007/

Francisco Oropeza Wanted For 5 Murders

Police in Texas are searching for Francisco Oropeza who is wanted for five murders and is considered to be armed and dangerous

According to police reports Francisco Oropeza was involved in an argument with his neighbors regarding Francisco firing an AK-47 in the front yard. After the heated discussion Francisco Oropeza would go into his home, reload the AK-47 and then went into the neighbors home where he would shoot five people in the head including one child

Now police in Texas are searching for Francisco Oropeza who took off into a wooded area

This story is ongoing

Francisco Oropeza News

Five people are dead after being shot in a Texas home by a suspect armed with an AR-15 style rifle in a horrific series of “execution style” shootings, police said.

A manhunt is currently underway for the suspect, identified by police as 39-year-old Francisco Oropeza, according to ABC station KTRK in Houston.

A judge has issued an arrest warrant for Oropeza and assigned a $5 million bond. Authorities believe Oropeza left by walking or on a bicycle and is currently within a two mile radius of the scene, KTRK reported.

Police said the incident occurred at 11:31 p.m. local time on Friday when officials from the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office received a call about harassment in the town of Cleveland, about 55 miles north of Houston.

When authorities arrived at the location, they found several victims shot at the property, police said. Three of the deceased were females and two were males, including the youngest, an 8-year-old boy.

Two female victims were discovered in the bedroom lying on top of two surviving children, authorities told ABC News.

Three minors were located uninjured, but covered in blood. They were transported to a local hospital.

Police said they believe the massacre occurred after neighbors asked the suspect to stop shooting his gun in the front yard because there was a baby trying to sleep.

“My understanding is that the victims, they came over to the fence and said ‘Hey could [you not do your] shooting out in the yard? We have a young baby that’s trying to go to sleep,” and he had been drinking and he says ‘I’ll do what I want to in my front yard,'” San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers told KTRK.

Capers told KTRK the case went from harassment to a shooting very quickly. He said that authorities believed some of the victims were trying to shield their children — with bodies found on top of children who were unharmed.

Authorities said Oropeza is armed with an AR-15 style rifle and was believed to be intoxicated. Deputies describe Oropeza as a Hispanic man who is 5-foot-8. He was last seen wearing jeans, a black shirt and work boots. Investigators said he has a goatee and short black hair, according to KTRK.

Police said the suspect “has been known to shoot his .223 out in his front yard, which is evident by the shell casings that are laying in the front yard.”

Capers said the shooter used a .223 rifle in the shooting. Capers could not confirm how many times his deputies had been called to the shooter’s property previously.

At least 10 people were in the home when police arrived on scene and all of the victims were between the ages of eight and 40.

Residents are being told to “stay inside [and] stay clear” of the crime scene until the investigation has concluded, but do not believe the suspect, a Mexican national, is in the area.

“We are getting closer to him every minute of every hour but we know who he is,” Capers told KTRK.

Police did not disclose the identity of the victims but said the shootings all took place in one home, the victims were all from Honduras and that four of the victims were declared dead at the scene. The fifth victim — an 8-year-old boy — was taken to a hospital and he has since been pronounced dead.

Capers said footage from a Ring doorbell at the victims’ house shows the shooter entering the home where the shooting took place with a weapon.

Police found two other weapons in the house in a search following the shooting. Capers also confirmed they are interviewing the shooter’s wife.

“There’s always shootings, there’s always shooting,” she said to KTRK. “There’s always people calling the cops and there’s nothing being done.”

She said that neighbors would frequently shoot firearms on weekends and holidays and that the sound of gunshots overnight was normal.

“We were in bed and my kids — I have two babies — they got scared, and we’re like, ‘it’s normal they’re always shooting.'”

She said she did not know the alleged shooter well but she would wave to him when he would pass by with his horses.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/5-dead-texas-shooting-suspect-armed-ar-15/story?id=98957271