2002 East End murders

In 2002, a crime spree involving the murders of two women and one teenage girl occurred in the East End area of Houston, Texas.[1] The three perpetrators were two adult men and one teenage boy: Edgardo Rafael Cubas Matamoros[2] (born February 7, 1979),[3] a Honduran citizen;[4] Walter Alexander Sorto (born August 10, 1977),[5] a Salvadoran citizen;[4] and Eduardo Navarro,[3] a 15-year-old boy at the time of the crimes.[6]

Crimes

One victim, 15-year old Esmeralda Alvarado, was a 10th grade (sophomore) student at Lamar High School.[1] Alvarado, a Hispanic girl,[3] resided in the East End. On January 18, 2002, she disappeared after leaving her boyfriend's house.[7] Alvarado was kidnapped, raped, and murdered by the three perpetrators;[8] she was shot in the head.[3] Her body was placed in a field,[7] in an industrial zone on the block of 18000 Market Street.[9] Her body was discovered on Tuesday January 22, 2002.[7]

The other murder victims, 24-year old Roxana Aracelie Capulin and 38-year old Maria Moreno Rangel, were waitresses,[1] employed at the El Mirador restaurant, an East End establishment acquired by Capulin's family in 1994. Capulin's family had immigrated from El Salvador.[10] On May 31, 2002, the two women disappeared and on July 1,[6] their corpses were found in Capulin's vehicle.[11] They had been shot to death and had their eyes and mouths covered with tape.[10]

Perpetrators

Cubas, an illegal immigrant,[12] originated from the San Miguel neighborhood of Tegucigalpa, Honduras and worked at a shopping center in the Comayagüela area.[13] He left his hometown in 2000.[2] Cubas had a common law wife from Houston, and his father was also resident in Houston. Cubas supported himself by cleaning offices and installing insulation.[1] He did not previously have a criminal record.[11]

Sorto, also an illegal immigrant,[12] had been convicted of unlawfully carrying a weapon in 1999 and for committing aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. For the former, he received a 10-day jail sentence, and for the latter, he received a sentence of probation for ten years in December 2000. Sorto was married and had children.[11]

The teenage boy was enrolled in Daniel Ortiz, Jr. Middle School as an 8th grader before his arrest.[11]

Trial and punishment
The adult perpetrators are housed in the Polunsky Unit

Sorto entered a police station in an attempt to claim a reward for solving the crimes. He confessed to committing crimes after his arrest.[6] On the day of Sorto's arrest, the teenage boy was arrested at his residence. Cubas was arrested while on the job at a construction site in Tomball, Texas.[11] Gilberto Villarreal, one of Cubas's lawyers, stated that in addition to Alvarado, Cubas also confessed to killing Capulin.[1]

Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Sorto and Cubas. Navarro was under 18 years of age at the time of the crimes, and therefore was ineligible for the death penalty. Navarro served as the getaway driver during the deaths of Capulin and Rangel.[6] He was to be tried as an adult.[9]

In November 2003 Sorto was sentenced to death for the murders of Capulin and Rangel.[1]

Frances "Poppy" Northcutt and Villarreal were Cubas's defense attorneys.[9] During his trial, seven of Cubas's relatives traveled to Houston to provide testimony; they were residents of Honduras. Cubas was convicted of the capital murder of Alvarado on May 10, 2004. He was sentenced to death on May 22, 2004 after the jury deliberated for two and one half hours.[1]

Male death row inmates in Texas are housed in the Polunsky Unit in West Livingston.

Cubas's execution was originally scheduled for January 16, 2014, but the execution date was rescinded.[14]

References
  1. Sallee, Rad; Dale Lezon (2004-05-22). "Man gets death in East End killing". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-05-23. - Abbreviated version, titled: "Honduran man gets death in Houston slaying", published in the Plainview Daily Herald
  2. "Unos 15 días de vida le quedan a hondureño condenado a muerte". La Tribuna. 2014-05-12. Archived from the original on 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2017-08-16. El hondureño viajó en calidad de mojado desde la colonia San Miguel en Tegucigalpa en el año 2000,[...]
  3. "Cubas, Edgardo Rafael ." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 23, 2017.
  4. "Citizenship of Offenders on Death Row." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 23, 2017.
  5. "Sorto, Walter Alexander." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 23, 2017.
  6. Teachey, Lisa (2003-02-18). "Teen linked to East End slayings indicted". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
  7. Hegstrom, Edward (2002-01-28). "Mother suspects victim knew her killer". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
  8. "Hondureño se salva de la pena de muerte en Texas, Estados Unidos". La Prensa (Honduras). 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2017-05-23. Edgardo fue condenado a muerte el 7 de junio de 2004 después de declararse culpable del asesinato de la hispana Esmeralda Alvarado, una joven quinceañera que fue secuestrada, violada y asesinada por Cubas y dos acompañantes más (Walter Alexander Sorto Eduardo Navarro).
  9. Tilghman, Andrew (2004-05-04). "Details of slaying come out in court". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
  10. O'Hare, Peggy; Roma Khanna (2002-07-12). "6 weeks later, leads few in case of slain waitresses". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-05-24.
  11. Lezon, Dale; Peggy O'Hare (2002-08-23). "Emotional families see East End suspects in court". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2002-08-24. Retrieved 2017-05-24.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. Ura, Alexa (2016-02-21). "Twelve Texas Death Row Inmates Were Undocumented". Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2017-05-24.
  13. Mendez, Marilyn (2013-09-03). ""Llevo ocho años pensando en la muerte"". La Prensa (Honduras). Retrieved 2017-05-23. “Vivía en la colonia San Miguel. Desde muy joven trabajé en un centro comercial en Comayagüela. ¿De dónde es usted?”, me pregunta. “Vivo en Tegucigalpa, ¿te acordás de Tegucigalpa?”, le pregunto para evitar que pierda el hilo de la conversación[...]
  14. "Suspenden ejecución del hondureño Edgardo Cubas en Estados Unidos". La Prensa (Honduras). 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
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