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Thread: Jose Baldomero Flores III Sentenced to 3 Life Terms in 2005 & 2011 TX Slayings of Heather Ann Willms and Esmeralda Herrera

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Jose Baldomero Flores III Sentenced to 3 Life Terms in 2005 & 2011 TX Slayings of Heather Ann Willms and Esmeralda Herrera


    Esmeralda Herrera and Heather Ann Willms




    November 30, 2016

    Man charged in slayings of women in 2005, 2011

    Jose Flores III, 36, charged in killings of Heather Willms, Esmeralda Herrera

    By Stephanie Serna
    KSAT News


    A 36-year-old man was charged Wednesday in connection with two capital murders involving female victims, the Bexar County District Attorney's Office said.

    Jose Baldomero Flores III was arrested at his home for the Feb. 21, 2005, slaying of Heather Willms (pictured below), who was found in her apartment in the 5600 block of Grissom Road in Leon Valley.

    Leon Valley Police Chief Joseph Salvaggio said it was new evidence that closed the case after more than 11 years.

    With Willms' parents by his side at a news conference, Salvaggio said that detectives had questioned Jose Baldomero Flores shortly after the slaying, but he was not arrested. After testing and retesting evidence, detectives were able to determine that Flores was the murder suspect.

    "Worse yet, was that this family realized today that Mr. Flores was a friend of Heather's," Salvaggio said. "Having gone to high school with her and staying in touch with her throughout the years, and they can even remember back to a picture of him in their home. He was the last one to see her alive."

    The Willms family released a statement Wednesday that read, "We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Leon Valley Police Department and the Texas Rangers for their relentless efforts to investigate our daughter
    Heather Ann Willms' murder. We also thank the San Antonio Police Department for working together with the Leon Valley Police Department and the Texas Rangers to ensure the arrest of Heather's murderer so no other family has to suffer through their child's death as we have."

    Despite the arrest, Salvaggio said it will take a while to forget about the case.

    "We're not there for closure yet," Salvaggio said. "My officers are not there and the family is not there. And I'll tell you like I told the family earlier. As a father of young daughters, I don't know if I could ever get there under the circumstances. All we can hope for and pray for is justice in her name."

    Flores is also accused of killing Esmeralda Herrera on March 2, 2011. The DA's Office said that Flores set Herrera's apartment on fire.

    The suspect was arrested in 2011 for Herrera's slaying, but the case was rejected by the DA's Office for further investigation.

    The case was reopened in 2015, which led to Flores' arrest.

    Flores is charged with two counts of capital murder and one charge of arson.

    If found guilty in a trial, he faces punishment of death by lethal injection or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    https://www.ksat.com/news/2016/12/01...-in-2005-2011/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Mask restrictions ease as courts reopen in Bexar County

    In-person trials, hearings started back up Tuesday

    By Erica Hernandez
    KSAT News

    SAN ANTONIO – Things are slowly getting back to normal at the Cadena Reeves Justice Center as in-person hearings and trials were cleared to begin Tuesday.

    There was some confusion though as to whether masks were required or not after a new order was released late last week easing COVID-19 restrictions at the courthouse.

    “Those that are not vaccinated still have to maintain six feet between themselves and other individuals and wear face coverings,” administrative Judge Ron Rangel said. “Those that are not vaccinated don’t have to, but we highly recommend that they wear a mask.”

    Judges are still trying to pick up where they left off in March of 2020 when courtrooms were forced to close because of the pandemic. Despite the clearance to start in-person hearings, many still using Zoom.

    “It’s now the 38th emergency orders until Aug. 1, 2021, so at least until then, we know that we’re going to continue using Zoom,” Rangel said.

    Meanwhile, four jury panels were present. Three panels were selected, two of those being for criminal trials.

    Also, the hearing for Jose Baldomero Flores took place in the 437th District Court. Flores is facing two capital murder charges and the death penalty in the deaths of two women in 2005 and 2011. His trial is now set for later this fall.

    https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021...-bexar-county/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Senior Member CnCP Addict maybeacomedian's Avatar
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    San Antonio man charged in slayings of two women in 2005, 2011 to face death penalty

    Trial for Jose Baldomero Flores to begin on Sept. 5

    - By Erica Hernandez | March 9, 2022 -

    A San Antonio man arrested in 2016 in connection with two separate cold cases will be heading to trial this year and face the death penalty.

    Jose Baldomero Flores is charged with two capital murder charges, one for the 2005 murder of Heather Willms and the 2011 murder of Esmeralda Herrera.

    Willms was found in her apartment in Leon Valley. Flores at that time was questioned but never arrested.

    In 2011, Herrera was found dead inside her apartment, which was set on fire. Flores was charged with this murder, but the charges were later dropped because of a lack of evidence.

    The cases were reopened in 2015, and Flores was officially arrested and charged the following year.

    Many hearings have taken place for the two cases, and it appeared close to heading to trial in 2020, but then the pandemic hit.

    On Wednesday, 437th District Court Judge Melisa Skinner said Flores had been in jail for 1,918 days, and it was time this case went to trial this year.

    A scheduling order was made, and jury selection will begin on July 29, with the trial set to start on Sept. 5.

    The Sept. 5 trial will only be for the 2011 murder case of Herrera. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty in this case.

    https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2022...death-penalty/
    https://archive.ph/ZEomj

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    San Antonio man gets three life terms for brutal murders of two women

    By Elizabeth Zavala
    San Antonio Express-News

    A San Antonio man has been sentenced to three life prison terms for raping and killing two women more than a decade ago.

    Jose Baldomero Flores III, 41, appeared Monday before state District Judge Melisa Skinner as she was about to begin presiding over selection of a jury to hear the capital murder case against Flores. If convicted at trial, he would have faced the death penalty.

    Instead, he will spend the rest of his life in prison. Flores pleaded guilty to non-capital murder and to arson, and Skinner sentenced him to two life sentences for murder and one for arson.

    Two of those sentences will be served concurrently; the third will be served after the first two.

    Flores was charged in the deaths of Heather Ann Willms on Feb. 21, 2005, and Esmeralda Herrera on March 2, 2011.

    Willms, 21, was found dead in the bedroom of her Leon Valley apartment. Her hands had been severed. Neighbors reported hearing her argue with a man, followed by sounds of a struggle, then silence, police said. Flores was questioned at the time of Willms’ death but was not charged.

    Six years later, Herrera, 30, was found bludgeoned and strangled in her Southwest Side apartment. She had been tied to her bed.

    Both woman had been sexually assaulted, and fires were set at their homes in an effort to destroy evidence, authorities said.

    For years, the crimes went unsolved. Then a cold-case investigation by the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, the San Antonio and Leon Valley police departments and the Texas Rangers, led to Flores’ arrest in November 2016.

    Joseph Salvaggio, then chief of police in Leon Valley, said at the time that an examination and retesting of evidence using new DNA technology helped investigators identify Flores as a suspect in the killing of Willms. He said Flores knew Willms from high school.

    “Mr. Flores was a purported friend of Heather’s, having gone to high school with her and staying in touch with her afterwards,” Salvaggio said.

    Flores was sentenced to two life sentences in connection with Willms’ killing — one for murder and the other for arson, to be served concurrently.

    Flores’ third life term was imposed for the murder of Herrera. He will served that sentence after he completes the other two, if he is still alive.

    https://www.expressnews.com/news/loc...l-17328250.php
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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