Joel Uriegas Izaguirre was looking for a second chance at love, according to Texas authorities. The only thing standing in his way, cops said, was his wife.
Police allege Izaguirre, 48, told them his wife conspired Norma Alicia Garza EspinozaThe murder because he had met someone new at work and wanted to start a new life with his girlfriend.
The murder of the 48-year-old woman happened on the morning of December 14 in a house in Brownsville. But an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Us Weekly alleges that Izaguirre also killed his wife’s aunt, Idalia Carrizaleswho was 58 years old.
He allegedly tried to throw off authorities by planting his border crossing card on his wife’s remains, according to court documents.
Police allege that Izaguirre called his wife’s son to ask if he had heard from her. The son asked a friend to check on his mother, who did, found Garza dead outside the home and called 911.
Carrizales was later found dead in her bedroom. Police confirmed that Carrizales and Garza had their own business, making tamales. All the ingredients for the tamales were found outside the house, ready to be cooked.
Later, while speaking with police, the son asked if he could have Izaguirre’s boarding pass, saying it was with his mother and that Izaguirre would need it to get through from Mexico, where he lives.
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The agents agreed to meet Izaguirre at a certain border crossing and instead of giving him the card, they took him in for questioning. Izaguirre claimed the last time he saw his wife was Dec. 13, when he dropped her off on the Mexican side so she could cross a bridge back into Texas, according to the affidavit.
But police said they recovered security footage showing Izaguirre crossing into Texas in his green 1999 Chevrolet Malibu on Dec. 14 and then returning to Mexico shortly after.
They also asked for a DNA sample. Izaguirre eventually admitted to committing the double homicide before talking to police about his new girlfriend.
He allegedly used a hidden key to enter the house and then killed his wife with a large wooden spoon called a barrote. Izaguirre told police he then hid the bar behind a refrigerator and placed his border crossing card inside Garza’s wallet, trying to rule himself out as a suspect in the double murder.
Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino said during a press conference on Monday, December 29, Izaguirre did not intend to kill the aunt and did not expect her to be there.
Treviño said Izaguirre crossed into Brownsville at approximately 5 a.m. and left for Matamoros at about 7:15 that morning.
The sheriff said investigators believe the killings occurred within that time frame and called the killings “brutal.”
“You could say that (the barrote) was a weapon of opportunity, which is what he immediately found there when he entered the house,” Treviño told reporters.
Izaguirre is being held without bail on capital murder charges.