Newly released court records identify the victim as 47-year-old Markus Benavidez and describe what a witness says happened before the fatal shooting.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Corpus Christi man is accused of fatally shooting his father inside their home, according to newly released court records that detail the moments leading up to the killing and the suspect’s alleged statement afterward.
The Nueces County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as 47-year-old Markus Benavidez. Police records identify the suspect as his son, 20-year-old Markus Xavier Benavidez.
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Markus Xavier Benavidez has been charged with murder. A judge set his bond at $1 million.
An arrest affidavit obtained by 3NEWS sheds new light on what investigators say happened inside the home in the 3500 block of Greenwich Drive before the shooting and what officers found when they arrived.
According to the affidavit, a woman called 911 shortly after 11:30 p.m. Monday, July 13, and told dispatchers her son had shot her husband in the head before leaving the bedroom.
When officers arrived, they found Markus Xavier Benavidez standing outside the home between an open garage and a white SUV. Officers held him at gunpoint until additional officers arrived, then took him into custody and placed him in a patrol vehicle.
Officers entered the home and found Markus Benavidez lying on a bed with blood beneath his head. An officer checked for a pulse but found none. Medics later pronounced him dead at the scene.
Police said they read Markus Xavier Benavidez his Miranda rights shortly before midnight. According to the arrest affidavit, he declined to answer questions and requested an attorney. Before the patrol car door was closed, investigators said he told officers, “I did what I did.”
A witness told detectives the suspect had recently been released from a hospital and had been acting unusually in the days before the shooting. According to the affidavit, the witness had contacted a crisis hotline after the suspect said he was not feeling right.
The witness told investigators the victim later went into a bedroom to sleep while she remained in the living room with the suspect. She said he began nodding and looking toward the ceiling as though someone was speaking to him.
According to the affidavit, the suspect then walked into the bedroom, searched through drawers and removed a handgun from a nightstand. The witness told police she tried to stop him by grabbing his arms before hearing one or two gunshots.
Police continue to investigate the homicide.