On this date, November 13, 2019, Hector Acosta-Ojeda was sentenced to death for the murder of his roommate Erick Zelaya, 26, and his girlfriend Iris Chirinos, 17, in Arlington, Texas. He is also charged with the murder of 34-year-old Triston Ray Algiene in 2017.
Texas man, 30, is sentenced to death for murder after BEHEADING his roommate with a machete and fatally shooting victim’s 17-year-old girlfriend before burying them both in a shallow grave - and dumping the head
· Hector Acosta-Ojeda, 30, was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death on Wednesday
· Acosta-Ojeda was accused of murdering his roommate Erick Zelaya, 26, and his girlfriend Iris Chirinos, 17, in Arlington, Texas
· After shooting both victims, Acosta-Ojeda buried the couple in shallow graves in a backyard and used a machete to behead Zelaya
· Zelaya was killed after he allegedly admitted his involvement in a drive-by shooting at Acosta-Ojeda's home
· Acosta-Ojeda is also charged with the murder of 34-year-old Triston Ray Algiene in 2017
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A Texas man has been sentenced to death for the murders of his roommate, who was beheaded with a machete, and the roommate’s 17-year-old girlfriend.
A jury in Fort Worth gave Hector Acosta-Ojeda, 30, the death penalty on Wednesday after he was found guilty of capital murder last week for pair of slayings he committed in 2017.
Acosta-Ojeda, a self-proclaimed hit man for a Mexican drug cartel, brutally killed Erick Zelaya and Iris Chirinos in Arlington by fatally shooting them.
Prosecutors say Acosta-Ojeda mutilated their bodies, including beheading Zelaya, before placing their bodies in a shallow grave in his backyard and leaving Zelaya’s head on a nearby walking trail.
Acosta-Ojeda reportedly acted in a fit of revenge and called the killings retaliation for a previous drive-by that he believed Zelaya was involved in.
Defense attorneys suggested a life sentence, claiming that Acosta-Ojeda’s childhood was filled with violence and a brain injury may have affected him.
It is unclear what the brain injury is or if there is an official diagnosis.
In September 2017, Acosta-Ojeda fired two shots into 26-year-old Zelaya’s head while he slept at home before shooting Chirinos when she tried to flee the scene.
Zelaya allegedly confessed to taking part in a drive-by shooting in May 2017 where two gunmen opened fire at Acosta-Ojeda's house while he and others slept inside.
Shortly after the shooting, Zelaya and Chirinos showed up at the home and appeared to be laughing. The next day Acosta-Ojeda’s home was burned down.
Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Kevin Rousseau said that Acosta-Ojeda stayed with Zelaya for the majority of the summer of 2017, during which time he heard rumors of his new roommate’s involvement.
The idea ‘ate away at him.’
After executing the couple, Acosta-Ojeda went into the backyard and dug up a shallow grave for their bodies.
He then used a machete to cut off Zelaya’s head and placed it in a garbage bag.
According to prosecutors, Acosta ‘made a sign… then grabbed the bag and sign, got on a bicycle and rode to a location near where his home had been burned down.’
He left Zelaya’s head near a man-made trail near the AT&T Stadium in Arlington with a sign written in Spanish that read, ‘La Raza Se Resreta y Faltan 4,’ which loosely translates to, ‘The race, or group, must be respected and there's only four left.'
A criminal investigation was launched after the severed head was discovered by a terrified local resident and a search warrant was set at Zelaya’s home in the 200 block of Burton Drive, KTVT reported.
Authorities discovered evidence of blood, a machete and the remains of the two victims at the home.
In addition to the Arlington murders, Acosta-Ojeda is charged with the robbery and killing of Triston Ray Algiene in July 2017 in Fort Worth.
Algiene's body was found in October 2017 cut in half, buried beneath a bedroom and covered in concrete at an abandoned home in the 6400 block of Woodway Drive.
Acosta-Ojeda and another man, Felipe Eduardo Ortiz, were charged with the crime.
The Star-Telegram reports that Algiene allegedly visited Acosta-Ojeda and Ortiz at a home for drug deal gone bad on July 3.
The meeting is believed by authorities to be a set up that led to Algiene being bound and beaten while the suspects demanded his debit card PIN.
Two other people, thought to be Zelaya and Chirinos, attempted to use the card but discovered the PIN didn’t work.
Police say Acosta-Ojeda then shot Algiene in the head.
Ortiz has not yet been convicted of those charges.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7683351/Texas-man-accused-beheading-roommate-sentenced-death.html
OTHER LINKS:
Prosecutors seek death penalty in trial this week of Arlington man in severed-head case
Cartel Killer, Hector Acosta Sentenced To Death In Shooting, Beheading Of Arlington Roommate