HOUSTON \u2013 Nearly eight years after Houston mother Maria Rodriguez disappeared without a trace, a Harris County jury found her then-boyfriend Erik Arceneaux guilty of murdering her.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, jurors found Arceneaux guilty of murder after less than three hours of deliberation, bringing an end to a case prosecutors described as one of the most challenging homicide trials because there were no human remains.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez, 29, was reported missing in June 2018 after she dropped off her young daughter at a babysitter\u2019s home in northeast Houston and never showed up for work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the victory,\u201d Rodriguez\u2019s sister, Gloria Jimenez, said after the verdict. \u201cIt\u2019s not bringing back Maria, but it is putting a person in jail that knew what he did. He took a soul, a good person from this world. I just need him to pay for what he did, and today we got justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jimenez said her family has spent years waiting for accountability.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been asking for justice for all these years. I didn\u2019t get it till today,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors: Digital evidence solved the case<\/p>\n
According to court records and testimony presented during trial, investigators found Rodriguez\u2019s abandoned vehicle about three miles from the babysitter\u2019s home.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said cellphone records showed Arceneaux\u2019s phone and Rodriguez\u2019s phone traveling together after she disappeared. Surveillance video and purchase records also showed Arceneaux buying a chainsaw and contractor trash bags from a Home Depot, evidence prosecutors argued was critical to proving their case.<\/p>\n
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, who personally prosecuted the case, said the investigation demonstrates how digital evidence can solve homicide cases even when a victim\u2019s body is never recovered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis case exclusively was solved by the digital evidence,\u201d Teare said.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that homicide cases without remains are among the most difficult to prosecute.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have no remains, we don\u2019t have a medical examiner who can tell you what the cause of death is,\u201d Teare said. \u201cWe can\u2019t pinpoint a time of death. We can\u2019t pinpoint even a location sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Teare said investigators were able to piece together the case through cellphone data, surveillance video and other evidence collected during the investigation.<\/p>\n
Family still searching for closure<\/p>\n
While Thursday\u2019s verdict brought a measure of justice, it did not bring complete closure for Rodriguez\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors alleged Arceneaux dismembered Rodriguez with a chainsaw and disposed of her body. Her remains have never been found.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been hard for the family,\u201d Jimenez said. \u201cDestiny has grown up eight years of her life without her mother. It\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arceneaux is expected to return to court Monday for the punishment phase of the trial, when the same jury will determine his sentence. The worst possible punishment is life in prison without the possibility of parole.<\/p>\n
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