A 20-year-old Texas man has been charged with killing his girlfriend just hours after she celebrated her 19th birthday. The woman’s badly disfigured body was discovered by San Antonio Police Department officers on Camp Bullis Road at about 12:51 a.m. according to reports. Officers are said to have located the body by tracing the origin of a cellphone call made by the woman to her mother just minutes before she died.
The woman allegedly told her mother that the man had stabbed her after the couple began to argue while traveling to a club with another male who was not identified initial reports. Police say that the woman’s body showed signs of massive trauma. Officers soon concluded that the woman had died after being run over repeatedly by a motor vehicle.
Police say that they pieced together the sequence of events after speaking with the man’s brother. He is said to have told officers that he arrived at the scene after being summoned by phone to see the couple arguing. Reports suggest that the argument concluded when the woman fell to the ground. He then says that his brother got behind the wheel of a Lexus sedan and ran the woman over several times. The man allegedly told his brother that he committed the crime to prevent the woman from reporting the argument to the police.
Experienced criminal defense attorneys may scrutinize police reports closely to ensure that the violent crimes their clients are charged with committing are supported by the facts. Attorneys may pay particular attention to intent as this can be a crucial factor when prosecutors determine whether first- or second-degree murder charges are warranted.
Source: My San Antonio, Arrest made in murder of teen killed hours after her birthday, Madalyn Mendoza, Sept. 3, 2018
