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Thread: Jennings, Jennings and Navarro Sentenced in 2017 TX Murder of Eric Torrez

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    Jennings, Jennings and Navarro Sentenced in 2017 TX Murder of Eric Torrez

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    Eric

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    Jennings


    Jury Trial Begins Monday in Brutal, Gruesome Tom Green County Capital Murder

    BY MATT TRAMMELL

    SAN ANGELO, TX – Jury selection for the oldest Capital Murder case on the Tom Green County district court docket began on Friday.

    According to court documents, on Dec. 3, attorneys for both the Tom Green County District Attorney's Office and attorneys representing Stephen Jennings, 38, began picking jurors for the capital murder trial that will begin on Monday.

    Jennings was originally booking into the jail on Jul. 27, 2017 after an arrest warrant was issued alleging that Jennings murdered 41-year-old Eric Torrez.

    As previously reported, Torrez's body was found by Tom Green County Sheriff Nick Hanna who was then a Texas Ranger in Crockett County after Tom Green County Sheriff's Office issued a missing persons report. After finding the body, a phone ping location for Torrez was located at 7481 Duckworth Rd, the home of Jennings.

    Five total people were arrested for the crime; Stephen Jennings, Jennings' father Garry Jennings, Jennings' wife Kristen Dean Jennings, David Navarro, and Angella Wray.

    Details later released described the murder as very brutal. Torrez was allegedly lured from Abilene to the home on Duckworth, beaten for days, and then shot in the head.

    Jennings' attorney has requested that if he is found guilty that Judge Weatherby assess punishment instead of the jury. For Capital Murder in Texas the sentence is either life in prison without parole or the death penalty.

    As for the others involved, on Nov. 18 Wray was given 10 years deferred adjudication for engaging in organized criminal activity. Garry Jennings has not had a court hearing since Mar. 2021 due to a DNA battle between defense attorneys and the DA's office. The last time Navarro saw the courthouse was on May 18. During the hearing the DA's office waived their intention to seek the death penalty. That means if Navarro is convicted he will get life in prison.

    The last member of the team, Kristen Dean Jennings, will only be spending 30 years in prison. This is because Kristen and the DA's office agreed to a "Use Immunity and Plea Bargain Agreement." In the agreement, Dean will get 30 years for the murder in exchange for testifying against the rest of the defendants.

    The jury trial will begin Monday at 9 a.m.

    https://sanangelolive.com/news/crime...capital-murder
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

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    Brutal & Gruesome Capital Murder Trial Underway in San Angelo

    BY SONIA RAMIREZ-MUÑOZ

    SAN ANGELO, TX –– After more than four years on the docket, the trial against Stephen Lynn Jennings finally began on Monday in Tom Green County. Jennings was in the court room wearing glasses, sporting a longer hairstyle, and a clean shaven –– a very different look then when he was booked into the Tom Green County Jail.

    The day kicked off with District Attorney John Best laying out the timeline investigators pieced together after the victim, Eric Torrez, disappeared in July of 2017. His remains were found weeks later in a neighboring county with multiple gunshots wounds, including one to the head.

    According to Best, this entire ordeal began when Jennings, his wife Kristen, and his father Gary allegedly hatched a plan to get Torrez to San Angelo.

    Kristen Jennings and Eric Torrez shared two children –– with one of the children residing with their father in the City of Abilene. The alleged plan was to lure Torrez away from the city, so Kristen and Gary could pick up the child from daycare and bring them back to Tom Green County. The problem was they did not know what daycare the child attended.

    Then the trio set their plan in motion with Jennings allegedly taking on a fake identity and asking Torrez for a bid for a construction project in San Angelo.

    Posing as a man named 'Derrick', the defendant made arrangements to meet the victim in Abilene, only to cancel the meeting at the very last minute. According to the prosecution, the meeting was just a ruse to allow the three Jennings the chance to follow Torrez home and figure out where he lived.

    During this time, Kristen and Gary allegedly began to search for the child in different daycare centers of Abilene but had no luck.

    Jennings would then ask Torrez to visit a home in Duckworth Rd with the pretext of the construction bid. Upon arriving at the location, he would allegedly be kidnapped and held against his will by Jennings and co-defendant David Navarro.

    Eric didn't know his fate was sealed," when he entered the home, said Best during his opening statement.

    Jennings and Navaro would eventually get Torrez to tell them where the child was, so Kristen and Gary rushed back to Abilene to the Pioneer Baptist Church, but they would be too late. The four-year-old had already been picked up by their paternal grandmother and taken to their dad's home.

    Knowing where the Torrez home was located, Kristen allegedly barged into the house and took the child with her back to San Angelo on Friday, July 21st.

    The next day, Torrez's mother reported him missing to the Abilene Police Department after being unable to contact him.

    She would tell authorities that her son's second iPhone was at his house and that she had seen messages about visiting a home in San Angelo during a work-related trip the day before. She would provide them with an address at Duckworth Rd., prompting APD to reach out to the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office for assistance. A deputy was then sent to conduct a welfare check to the home.

    Bodycam footage presented during the trial showed the first welfare check was unsuccessful after no one appeared to be home. Hours later two deputies would make contact with Jennings and his wife.

    While the audio was substantially garbled due to the ambient noise and a windy day, the deputy on the stand stated they discussed the victim with Kristen Jennings. She would allege Torrez had not been at that property recently.

    She did tell deputies that two children were inside the home playing.

    The prosecution would then call a witness that would take up the vast majority of the day -- the crime scene technician who had been in charge of collecting and processing all the evidence in Torrez's disappearance.

    For hours the former crime scene technician described in great detail the hundreds of photographs entered into evidence and the process of completing three search warrants in the home on Duckworth Rd as new information was uncovered in the course of the investigation.

    He would describe what appeared to be small blood smears, and blood spatter detected by luminol and other chemical agents used to detect the presence of blood –– even when it may have been cleaned.

    Investigators would also discover a variety of shell casings, ammunition, and a pink .22 rifle with the words "My First Rifle" on the gun. Various burn pits that contained a variety of items were also found around the property.

    Navarro's home was also searched and several electronics were seized, but none appear to be connected to Torrez's disappearance.

    Several other witnesses would later take the stand and discuss how police obtained video evidence that is expected to be re-introduced later in the trial.

    For their part, the defense focused on a different aspect of the case. They asked the jury to consider that the multiple co-defendants who had reached an agreement with the state in exchange for their testimony couldn't be trusted. According to attorney Kimberly Brown, they were "going to point the finger at Jennings" and asked the jury to "pay attention to their agenda."

    Brown argued that "nobody saw what happened at the house definitively" and that each co-defendant could have killed Torrez as they spent time with the victim.

    "This is a case about lies and deals," said Brown.

    The socially distanced trial will resume on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m.

    https://sanangelolive.com/news/crime...way-san-angelo
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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    Witnesses Recount Gruesome Details in San Angelo Capital Murder Trial

    BY SONIA RAMIREZ-MUÑOZ

    SAN ANGELO, TX –– The second day of the trial against Stephen Jennings was filled with lots of detail after the jury spent more than nine hours listening to investigators and a co-conspirator who testified in exchange for a plea bargain.

    The day began with investigators from the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office detailing how the investigation led authorities to charge Jennings with Capital Murder.

    According to investigators, Eric Torrez's body was found near Barnhart nearly two weeks after he was allegedly lured to San Angelo by the defendant on July 21, 2017. A linear search of the property near Hwy 163 allowed law enforcement to find Torrez's remains in the middle of a pasture.

    According to the investigator in charge of the case, Sgt. Corey Speck, the only article of clothing left on the victim's body was a pair of khaki shorts –– which was consistent with the description given in the missing persons report. The remains had visible signs of insect activity, animal predation, and were exposed to the elements for an extended amount of time.

    Officers were able to identify the victim after noticing a small piece of the right ear was missing –– another detail matching Torrez's description. Officers also observed a tattoo on the side of the victim's body.

    According to Speck, the victim appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound to the head, just above the forehead. The impact of the bullet caused significant damage to his skull. Torrez also appeared to have suffered a gunshot in the hand.

    During the investigation, the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office seized Jennings' phone and accessed the location data stored within the device. The data showed the phone pinged in at least three locations of great interest to investigators.

    Hours after Torrez was allegedly kidnapped by the defendant, Jenning's phone showed he was near the Chick-fil-A on Sherwood Way shortly after 2:00 a.m

    Security footage from the Stripes on Sherwood Way showed Jennings getting gas and entering the store to purchase a couple of drinks. The video then showed Jenning's vehicle heading toward Hwy 67. About an hour later, the phone pinged on Hwy 163 –– along a relatively deserted area of the highway.

    Approximately seven hours later, Jenning's phone pinged in Ballinger, the same city where the victim's pickup had been abandoned in a Walmart parking lot. Footage from the Stripes in Ballinger showed Jennings and his father Gary enter the store that same day.

    According to Sgt Speck, the TGCSO also seized video from the Kingdom Hall Church in Ballinger that allegedly shows the truck and the defendant's car traveling behind each other hours after the kidnapping. The alleged footage was not shown to the jury on Tuesday.

    After completing three search warrants on the defendant's home and their co-conspirators, investigators piled a mountain of evidence that was then sent off to be tested at the DPS Crime Lab in Lubbock. DNA evidence, including blood spatter in the defendant's home, and blood inside a mop bucket were ultimately linked to the victim.

    Cellphones have been a vital part of this trial as officials have used extracted data to piece together the timeline of this horrific crime. One of the parts of the puzzle came together after Angella Wray took the stand. Wray was charged with organized crime and aggravated kidnapping but reached a deal for deferred adjudication if she testified against Jennings.

    As the third and final witness to take the stand, Wray gave the audience some background knowledge of what happened before the kidnapping occurred.

    According to Wray, at the time the situation unfolded, she had become friends with Kristen Jennings and even employed her services as a babysitter for her youngest child.

    Wray testified that while she knew Kristen shared two children with the victim and that she wanted to regain custody of their daughter, she didn't know all the details.

    On the day of the kidnapping, Wray stated she received a phone call from Stephen Jennings who had a peculiar request.

    Jennings allegedly told Wray that his wife's ex was coming to San Angelo so they could find out the location of the child. He would also tell her about the plan involving the fake bid and ask if her ex-boyfriend Derrick, would "back him up," during the meeting with Torrez.

    After Wray contracted Derrick, she texted Jennings that her ex-boyfriend would help "as long as his name didn't come up," or stated he could get Jennings in contact with people who would help for the right price. According to Wray, Jennings wasn't looking to pay for the help.

    She then advised Jennings to "cancel the meeting and think it thru, lolol," via text. Jennings then asked her to watch two children, Kristen's youngest son and a toddler she was hired to babysit.

    Wray told the jury she initially hesitated in her response and only agreed to help with the children after spending time getting ready and stopping for gas. As Wray approached the Jennings' home, she observed Kristen driving in her direction and the two traveled to Wray's home, along with the defendant's father –– Gary Jennings.

    During her testimony, Wray stated Kristen looked concerned and worried while at her house. A sudden phone call would then prompt Kristen and Gary to leave the home. After the initial visit, Kristen allegedly stopped by three additional times at the home.

    During this time, Wray learned Kristen would be traveling to Abilene to pick up her daughter after her husband was able to extract the information from her ex. She would then show up at Wray's home with her daughter and son in tow.

    Kristen would spend part of the night at Wray's home before returning to her home on Duckworth Rd in the middle of the night.

    One of the more disturbing conversations to be read out loud to the jury occurred between Kristen and Wray after the kidnapping.

    Kristen texted Wray to say she was "just going to give it time." To which Wray replied, " Just going to wait before he lets the bird go?"

    Kristen would then reply, "Wouldn't want the kids to see their pet go that way," and received an "oh my goodness" from Wray.

    When asked by prosecutors why she had sent that message she replied she didn't know and was possibly trying to get more details about the situation.

    The third day of the trial will resume on Wednesday where it is expected the medical examiner will take the stand.

    https://sanangelolive.com/news/crime...l-murder-trial
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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    Co-Conspirators Take the Stand Against Capital Murder Suspect During Day 3

    BY SONIA RAMIREZ-MUÑOZ

    SAN ANGELO, TX –– The trial in the brutal murder of Eric Torrez continues as the jury sees even more pieces of this gruesome puzzle. Stephen Jennings is facing a capital murder charge in addition to several charges in connection to Torrez's death.

    In a first for this trial, the medical examiner testified via Zoom after a scheduling conflict made it difficult for him to travel to San Angelo. According to Dr. Thomas Parsons, the remains had experienced a large amount of animal predation, and exposure to the elements led to an advanced level of decomposition. A picture of the remains showed Torrez's features were unrecognizable.

    The official cause of death was identified as a gunshot wound to the head, with Parsons testifying the bullet entered the victim's left frontal scalp and exited in the left eye orbit. The images showed the victim's orbital region had damage consistent with a bullet. According to Parsons, Torrez would have required immediate medical attention if the shot hadn't been fatal.

    During the morning portion of the day, the jury also heard from Lt. Marsh of the Ballinger Police Department. Marsh described the process that led authorities to determine Torrez's truck had been abandoned at the Walmart parking lots for several days. The jury also had the opportunity to see surveillance footage that showed Torrez's F-150 traveling just feet ahead of the defendant's car –– presumably while heading to the Walmart.

    After lunch, the victim's mother, Dolores Cortez, took the stand. It was clearly an emotional moment for Mrs. Cortez, but she told the jury how her son had told her about his plans to travel to San Angelo to meet a potential client and asked her to pick up his daughter from daycare.

    Mrs. Cortez also described the messages authorities found on the victim's phone that were sent by the defendant pretending to be a man named Daryl.

    "Hey bud, it's Daryl. That Blackberry went tits up on me so I went to AT&T and got a new phone," read one of the messages.

    Jennings would then tell Torrez that "his wife and daughter" had surprised him in San Angelo, and he should stop by to check out the properties they had previously discussed –– even going as far as suggesting the victim bring his daughter so the two girls could play.

    Torrez replied he was at another construction site since he had not heard back from "Daryl" but eventually agreed to meet in San Angelo. Jennings would then provide him the address to the house on Duckworth Rd he shared with the victim's ex.

    Mrs. Cortez also testified that less than an hour after picking up her granddaughter from daycare, Kristen Jennings entered the home unannounced and uninvited. According to Mrs. Cortez, the four-year-old seemed reluctant to leave with her biological mother, and she received multiple bruises after being pushed to the ground by Kristen.

    Initially, Cortez attempted to contact her son but all her calls were sent to voicemail. When she reached out to the Abilene Police Department to report the situation with Kristen, officers told her that the biological had the legal right to take her daughter –– since there was no formal custody agreement between the two parties.

    In an attempt to locate her son, Mrs. Cortez returned a missed call from "Daryl," who suggested maybe Torrez was out and about the town.

    The next day Mrs. Cortez would continue to search for her son –– even calling neighboring counties to see if he had been stopped by police or if they had any record of him.

    The last conversation she would ever have with her son would be when he told her he had arrived at Duckworth Rd.

    Another witness to take the stand was Katie McWilliams, the long-time girlfriend of co-defendant David Navarro. McWilliams told the jury she dated Navarro for eleven years, living under a common-law marriage.

    According to McWilliams, she knew Navarro knew Jennings for years and even visited the defendant's tattoo shop regularly. During those visits, she alleges Jennings would routinely complain of his wife's ex and claimed he wanted to beat him up and leave a scar, so he would never forget it.

    Jennings stated Torrez had been physically abusive to Kristen and her new husband wanted him to pay.

    McWilliams also stated she and Navarro used methamphetamine nearly daily and that to the best of her knowledge, he was supposed to be at work when the kidnapping occurred but didn't know how much he had been involved.

    One of the most anticipated witnesses, David Navarro, also took the stand. According to Navarro, he met Jennings after becoming his meth supplier nearly a decade ago. On July 21st, Navarro received a call from Jennings asking him to meet him at the house on Duckworth Rd.

    When Navarro arrived at the property, Jennings allegedly told him that if the cops got involved, he needed to be the alibi for himself and his father, Gary Jennings.

    After the defendant entered the home, Navarro saw a pickup pull up into the driveway, and he would be face to face with the victim, who introduced himself as Eric Torrez.

    As the two entered the home, Navarro called out for "Stephen" but received no reply. Before he knew what had happened Jennings was pointing a gun in their direction and ordering the victim into an empty bedroom.

    When Navarro entered the room he testified a blue tarp, duct tape, a chair, and a pitcher of water were all in the room. As he attempted to tie up the victim with duct tape and baling wire, Navarro stated Torrez refused to "cooperate" so he punched him in the side of the face.

    Later on in the day, the jury would have the opportunity to see a picture of Torrez tied to a chair and with bruises on his face.

    During his testimony, Navarro admitted to taking meth before seeing Jennings and while at the house after the kidnapping. According to Navarro, he did not remember hearing Torrez say anything and stated he was alive when he left and only admitted to hitting him once.

    Even though Navarro was offered a plea deal of 25 years in prison in exchange for his testimony, he was often confrontational when his version of events was questioned –– especially regarding the motive behind recording a video of Torrez while he was in the chair.

    Navarro's testimony showed his sense of time was not well adjusted as he conflated dates and placed events together that occurred days apart. During his entire testimony, he blamed meth for his lack of memory of his actions. He also claimed he was scared of being in Jennings' house even as he participated in the kidnapping in different ways because he was high.

    Part of the investigation has revolved around the alleged video showing Torrez being assaulted. According to a former friend of Navarro's, on the day of the kidnapping, Navarro texted her and stated he had "f--ked up" and the two arranged to meet at the Neighborhood Walmart on Sherwood Way.

    When the duo met, Navarro showed her a short video of a person, later identified as Eric Torrez, being beaten up by an anonymous suspect. While claiming she did not put much attention to the video, the woman stated she recognized Navarro's voice asking questions and a second male who assaulted Torrez. Navarro would allegedly tell her that had happened that same day.

    She would subsequently identify the victim from the photograph showing him tied up.

    During his testimony, Navarro stated the woman suggested he should delete the video and he followed her advice. According to the woman, she never told him to do anything with the footage.

    Court will reconvene on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. as the long list of witnesses makes their way across the courtroom.

    https://sanangelolive.com/news/crime...t-during-day-3
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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    Defense Calls No Witnesses & Rests in Gruesome Jennings Capital Murder Trial

    BY SONIA RAMIREZ-MUÑOZ

    SAN ANGELO, TX –– The fourth day of the trial against alleged murderer Stephen Jennings ended with a surprising twist after the defense announced they would not call witnesses to the stand.

    During a nearly 10 hour day, the jury heard from several witnesses, including Kristen Dean, the defendant's ex-wife, and Tom Green County Sheriff Nick Hanna. While on the stand, Sheriff Hanna testified about his involvement in the investigation while he worked as a Texas Ranger back in 2017.

    According to Hanna, the day after authorities executed the first search warrant on the house on Duckworth Rd on July 25th, a group of local law enforcement officials traveled to Red Oak, TX to interview the defendant's father, Gary Jennings.

    Even though the specific details regarding Gary's statement to police were not released in court, Sheriff Hanna stated that during the four-hour interview, he provided details about the incident that prompted authorities to secure a second search warrant for the house on Duckworth Rd. for the following day.

    During the interview, Gary allowed law enforcement to conduct a voluntary search of the home and provided buccal swabs for DNA comparison. While searching the Red Oak home, investigators located multiple firearms, but none that could be connected to the victim's death.

    The second search of Jenning's home on July 27th led officers to a variety of biological materials that appeared to indicate the victim, Eric Torrez, had been inside and suffered trauma.

    After collecting blood stains and hair samples from the walls and floor, and other surfaces, the evidence was transported to the DPS Crime Lab where it underwent DNA testing.

    To provide some context, after comparing the collected samples to the victim's DNA, the test indicated that chances of the blood smear found inside a mop bucket belonging to the victim were 4.7 septillion or 4,700,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times greater
    than anybody else. According to the expert on the stand, similar high odds were identified when testing the blood smear on the wall and the strands of black hair found inside the home.

    As the morning testimonies continued, the prosecution called a former girlfriend of Stephen Jennings to the stand. According to the woman, back in 2019, she received a disturbing letter from Jennings that prompted her to contact the sheriff's office.

    The woman explained that after occasionally corresponding with Jennings via mail, she received a letter from a different inmate housed at the Tom Green County Jail. While the letter was not signed by the defendant, the woman recognized Jennings' handwriting and writing style.

    In the letter, the defendant asked her to respond to the inmate listed on the envelope –– the said inmate was incarcerated for a sexual offense.

    Jennings also asked her to conduct research on his behalf as he awaited trial for capital murder. The list of questions included background information on his attorneys, past death penalty cases prosecuted in this county, the effects of bleach on DNA, and the preception juries tended to have of jailhouse snitches.

    In the letter, he also asked her to research polygraph tests requirements and the pros and cons of having the media involved in the trial. San Angelo Live made the official court record after Jennings indicated he was banned from the Facebook page at one point.

    Technology continued to play a major part in today's testimony as the jury heard from the Kristen Dean, formally known as Kristen Jennings. Dean also faces charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping like Jennings, and if convicted could face life in prison.

    After securing a deal with the state, the 32-year-old mother of three agreed to testify against her former husband in exchange for immunity and a plea bargain of 30 years for the kidnapping charge and 20 years for murder. The sentences would be served concurrently.

    While on the stand, Dean provided some details of that fateful day, but often explained she did not remember much of plans, conversations, phone calls, and text messages she shared with her ex-husband that day.

    Dean confirmed Gary, Stephen, and herself traveled to Abilene the day before the murder to meet with Torrez under false pretenses and then attempted to find his house, but failed. The next day she returned to the city with Gary and began searching for her daughter at different daycares.

    According to Dean, the original plan consisted of using Gary's phone to contact Torrez about a potential bid for his concrete company and keep him occupied until she could retrieve her daughter. Jennings would lure Torrez to a random house and make sure he was distracted 90 miles away from his home. The plan would ultimately fail after the group couldn't determine where Torrez lived with his mother and daughter.

    Text messages and phone calls placed by Jennings and Dean appeared to indicate a scramble to set up a meeting with the victim. The couple discussed asking Angella Wray for help, and records showed Jennings reached out to David Navarro multiple times.

    While on the stand, prosecutor John Best instructed Dean to read to the jury the plethora of messages that she exchanged with Jennings.

    The first set of messages sent after 8:00 a.m. showed the trio faced their first obstacle after Gary Jennings kept his phone with him as he and Dean traveled to Abilene. This became a problem when Torrez attempted to contact "Daryl" for the bid that they had previously discussed and they couldn't answer the phone.

    "Eric is already calling, you should have kept the phone," stated Dean.

    "Damn, already? I didn't think he'd call until after lunchtime," replied Jennings.

    The messages showed Jennings and Dean went back and forth trying to decide how to handle the issue. They would ultimately tell the victim "Daryl" had a new phone and used Jennings' cellphone.

    "Talked about the plan for four days and still unorganized," complained Dean in one of the messages.

    For the rest of the morning and early afternoon, the couple maintained constant communication as they tried to locate the child and come up with the most effective way to lure Torrez to San Angelo.

    At one point in the conversation, Jennings stated he "only had a couple of options." By the time Torrez arrived in San Angelo, Dean had not figured out where the child was located and they returned to Angella Wray's home.

    After a couple of hours, Gary and Dean drove to Duckworth Rd. where Gary was given a paper with two addresses –– one for the daycare and one for the home in Abilene. Dean would then enter Torrez's home and extract her daughter. As she informed Jennings she had located the four-year-old, Jennings stated the victim, "was freaking out." A short time later, Jennings called to let her know Torrez was dead.

    After returning to San Angelo and dropping Gary off at the house, Dean traveled to Angella Wray's house where she remained most of the evening.

    Cellphone records show around 8:00 p.m. she would ask Jennings if "he was done" as Jennings replied he was looking for a UV light at Home Depot.

    In the messages, Dean explained this was "not a good time" for the couple as she was really upset. Jennings just continued to reiterate his love for his wife.

    "Everything will be alright, I love you with all my heart," texted Jennings.

    Minutes before 4:00 a.m., Jennings's phone recorded he walked more than 14,000 steps. Previously introduced data showed his phone pinged near the dumpsite around that same time.

    By 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, Jennings texted his Dean "he was about done."

    Dean would confirm several items were burned after everything occurred, including a couch from their living room. She maintained she had no idea what was going to happen to the father of her two youngest children when they set up the plan.

    For the last part of the state's case, the jury had the opportunity to see a detailed timeline constructed of phone calls, cellphone messages, and data of the day's events.

    GPS coordinates showed Dean's phone traveled to Abilene multiple times that day, with the timestamps matching her conversations with Jennings.

    The data also showed that until 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 21st, all of Jennings' calls and messages were routed from the same AT&T tower located on Duckworth Rd. Records also indicated Jennings visited the area near Home Depot and placed calls to Lowes and Westlake Ace Hardware store in the evening. Earlier in the day, he searched for UV lights and forensic science on his phone.

    Finally, the records showed the last few hours of Eric Torrez's life. At 1:21 p.m. he arrived in San Angelo, by 2:04 his phone pinged on the tower on Duckworth Rd. and would remain active in that area until 5:04 p.m. when the last data point was collected.

    On Friday the jury will be hearing closing statements and then deliberate the jury instructions.

    https://sanangelolive.com/news/crime...l-murder-trial
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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    Jury delivers guilty verdict in San Angelo murder, kidnapping, and torture of Abilene man

    Alana Edgin
    San Angelo Standard-Times

    SAN ANGELO — More than 4 years after an Abilene man was kidnapped, brutally tortured and killed near San Angelo and dumped near Barnhart, a week-long trial ended with multiple plea bargains and two life sentences.

    One of five defendants in the case, Stephen Lynn Jennings sat in the 119th District Court in the Tom Green County Courthouse. He was charged with the capital murder of Eric Torrez, 41, along with aggravated kidnapping and tampering with a corpse to impair evidence in 2017.

    About 5:14 p.m., Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, the jury of 9 women and 4 men delivered a verdict of guilty to capital murder, aggravated kidnapping and tampering with a human corpse to impair evidence. They deliberated for 2 hours before reaching this verdict.

    Judge Jay Weatherby, of the 340th District Court, decided a sentence of life without parole for both capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, as well as 20 years for tampering. These are the maximum sentences that can be delivered for these charges.

    What led to the jury's verdict of Stephen Jennings?

    The trial began at 9 a.m. Dec. 6, 2021. Family and friends of Eric Torrez, the Jennings family and Kristen Dean filtered into the courtroom, along with law enforcement and community members interested in seeing the trial 4 years in the making come to an end.

    Over the week, the jury heard testimonies from law enforcement, forensic experts, other codefendants (who had plea bargains and immunity agreements in place for their truthful testimony) and people with relationships to the suspected individuals, all presented by the state. The defense put no one on the stand.

    Codefendants', officials' testimonies indicate kidnapping plan started before July 21, 2017

    One woman, David Navarro's ex, told law enforcement that Stephen mentioned wanting to harm "Kristen's ex" and "scar him" a year prior. She also said Stephen Jennings detailed wanting to kidnap Torrez, beat him up and leave him somewhere, according to her testimony on Wednesday.

    In a text message at 8:28 a.m. July 21 between Kristen and Stephen, she said "(we) talked about the plan for 4 days." At this point, cell phone location information placed Garry Jennings, Stephen's father, and Kristen Jennings, now Dean, in Abilene, checking daycares for Eric and Kristen's daughter.

    Around this time, Stephen, posing as "Daryl" first on his father's phone, then his own, started trying to have Eric Torrez met with him in San Angelo to bid on a construction job.

    Torrez received a text to meet "Daryl" at the Jennings' residence on Duckworth Road, north of San Angelo, where he was restrained, beaten and eventually fatally shot in the head, documents state.

    Law enforcement believed this was a trap, with a goal to get Torrez out of Taylor County so Kristen and Garry could kidnap his 4-year-old daughter. Kristen confirmed this in her testimony on Thursday, though she stated Torrez wasn't supposed to die.

    "The original plan was supposed (to) lure him to a random house and talk about concrete away from (daughter)," Kristen Dean, formerly Stephen's wife, said. "Stephen changed that plan."

    David Navarro arrived at the residence and helped Stephen restrain Torrez to a chair in the middle of an empty bedroom with a blue tarp on the floor. He punched Torrez in the head and tied him with a red rope, duct tape and wire, according to Navarro's testimony.

    Navarro also testified he didn't remember much and had used methamphetamine during the kidnapping. His ex also testified she and Navarro had been using "small amounts" of methamphetamine daily around that time.

    A friend of Navarro saw a video he had taken during the torturing of Torrez and she later told law enforcement about it. They met by the Walmart Neighborhood Market, 1852 Sherwood Way on July 21, 2017 around 6 p.m.

    In the video, she heard two men yelling - one of them was Navarro, the other she didn't know.

    "(She) saw a subject step in front of the video recording device and that subject physically struck the victim from the side, and she heard the victim make a grunting type of sound," the documents stated.

    That video was deleted and unavailable for the trial.

    Stephen Jennings' attorneys pointed out that no blue tarp, duct tape or anything tying Stephen to killing Eric Torrez's had been found at the pasture Torrez was found in 14 days later.

    Cell phone data, texts, videos build timeline around Eric Torrez's death

    Investigators dived into the phones of the Jennings, Navarro, Torrez and Wray, along with pulling videos from businesses. Here's some of what they found through videos in 2017:

    2:39 p.m. July 21: David Navarro is seen entering Stripes Convenience Store, 1606 La Folette and leaving at 2:42 p.m.

    About 7:51 p.m. July 21: Home Depot video shows Stephen and Garry, and a Chrysler 200, at the store where they purchased heavy duty duct tape, blue self adhesive plastic film/carpet protector, latex gloves and bleach. Stephen was seen later that night in the same clothes at a Little Caesars.

    2:24 a.m. July 22: Stephen and the Chrysler are seen on video at Stripes, 5655 Sherwood Way. He gets gas and a passenger door appeared to open, indicating a passenger, officials said.

    10:14 a.m. July 22: Garry and Stephen enter the Ballinger Stripes on Hutchins Ave., according to video surveillance.

    10:22 a.m. July 22: Video from Jehovah Witness Church in Ballinger shows a gray pickup matching Torrez's driving toward the Walmart, followed by a silver car.

    https://www.gosanangelo.com/story/ne...an/8859892002/
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  7. #7
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    Second man found guilty in 2017 kidnapping, murder of Abilene father

    By Alana Edgin
    San Angelo Standard-Times

    SAN ANGELO — It took a jury 47 minutes to determine Garry Jennings, one of five people charged in the brutal kidnapping and murder of an Abilene man in 2017, was guilty on all charges Friday afternoon.

    On July 21, 2017, a series of events led Eric Torrez, a 41-year-old Abilene business owner and father, to be lured to San Angelo to bid on a construction job. Over the next several hours, Torrez was kidnapped and tortured in an attempt to find the location of his 4-year-old daughter.

    Torrez was then killed and taken to a field south of Barnhart, where his body would not be found until Aug. 4, 2017.

    Over the course of the investigation, five people were arrested: Kristen Dean, the mother of Torrez's daughter; Stephen Jennings, Dean's husband at the time; Garry Jennings, Stephen's father; David Navarro, Stephen's friend; and Angella Wray, who Dean had babysat for in the past.

    Garry Jennings was charged with murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and tampering with a human corpse.

    What led to the jury's verdict of Garry Jennings?

    Over the course of the trial against Garry Jennings, which began at 9 a.m. Monday, May 9, 2022, the jury heard from forensic experts, law enforcement, witnesses and co-defendants. Jennings, who is from Red Oak, entered a plea of not guilty to murder, aggravated kidnapping and tampering with a human corpse that morning.

    New details came to light, including how Garry Jennings moved Torrez's pickup down the road prior to them getting the daughter. He also moved the pickup to Ballinger and left it in the Walmart parking lot, and told investigators he helped clean the blood from the house.

    The defense, in a similar move to the December trial of Stephen Jennings, put no one on the stand. Their defense was that Garry did not know this would happen, did not load the body into the vehicle, nor was he the one who decided to harm Torrez.

    "Garry is not the one who made the decision," said John Sutton, Garry's attorney, during closing arguments. "Yes, he should have had the sense to walk away. Garry did bad things that day, but he didn't kill Eric."

    Sutton also argued that Garry Jennings helped investigators find the general area where Eric's body was found, met with officers, and attempted to convince Stephen Jennings not to get involved.

    119th District Attorney John Best, representing the state, described how officials believe Garry Jennings took part in the torture, which led to them getting the location of the daughter's daycare.

    "(Stephen Jennings and David Navarro) were torturing Eric. They had to get the address, and they couldn't get it," Best said. "Navarro saw Garry in the house, wearing yellow gloves. (Navarro) leaves … and they get the address."

    Much of the evidence centered on cell phone data, from texts to location data.

    "Thank goodness for cell phones," Best said as his final statement. "Without them, we could not have seen into the minds of these criminals."

    The jury went into deliberations at 4:15 p.m. and delivered the guilty verdict at 5:02 p.m. Friday, May 13.

    The court will reconvene at 8:30 a.m. Monday, May 16, to listen to more testimonies for the punishment phase before deciding on a sentence.

    Cell phone data, texts, videos build timeline around Eric Torrez's death


    Investigators reconstructed a timeline of Torrez's death using phone data collected from mobile devices belonging to Jennings, Navarro, Torrez and Wray, as well as surveillance videos recorded from nearby businesses.

    Information revealed in Stephen's trial also added to the timeline.

    One woman, David Navarro's ex-girlfriend, told law enforcement Stephen mentioned wanting to harm "Kristen's ex" and "scar him" a year prior to the murder. She said Stephen Jennings wanted to kidnap Torrez, beat him up, and leave him somewhere, according to testimony she provided in December.

    On July 20, 2017, Stephen, posing as "Daryl," contacted Torrez to meet in Abilene about a possible construction job. When Torrez arrived, Stephen said he couldn't meet. Stephen and Kristen then attempted to follow Torrez home, but testimony revealed the attempt was unsuccessful.

    July 21

    • 8:17: Kristen and Garry are in Abilene, checking daycares.
    • 8:28 a.m. Kristen texts Stephen "(we) talked about the plan for 4 days."
    • 9:48 a.m.: Stephen texts Kristen “(expletive) it, let (Eric) come to the house.” Kristen testified this changed the plan. She did not want Torrez at their house.
    • Before 11 a.m.: Angella Wray said Stephen Jennings called her to ask if her ex could “back him up,” since Torrez was coming. Later, he asks if she could watch Kristen's kids.
    • 12:51 p.m.: Navarro arrived at the Jennings' residence.
    • 1:07 p.m.: Eric’s phone indicates he is in the area of the Jennings’ home. The last time his phone appears active is around 5:40 p.m. and had not moved.
    • During this time, Navarro helped Stephen restrain and torture Eric in the residence. Navarro's phone places him in the area.
    • 2:38 p.m.: Stephen’s phone searches for Pioneer Drive Baptist Church.
    • 2:39 p.m.: David Navarro is seen entering Stripes Convenience Store, 1606 La Follette, and leaving at 2:42 p.m.
    • 2:48 p.m.: Kristen and Stephen's phones appear in the Duckworth Road area. Kristen testified this is when Garry went into the house and returned with the addresses.
    • 4:45 p.m.: Kristen enters Torrez’s home, assaults his mother and takes the daughter. They start to head toward San Angelo. Within an hour, Stephen called Kristen and said Torrez is dead, she testified.
    • Around 6 p.m.: A friend of Navarro saw a video he had taken during the torturing of Torrez, which she later told law enforcement. The two met by the Walmart Neighborhood Market, 1852 Sherwood Way.
    • 7:51 p.m.: Home Depot video shows Stephen and Garry, and a Chrysler 200, at the store where they purchased heavy duty duct tape, blue self adhesive plastic film/carpet protector, latex gloves and bleach.

    Stephen was seen later that night in the same clothes at a Little Caesars.

    A phone belonging to Stephen was in the area of Duckworth Road for most of the day, while Dean and Garry's phones were shown traveling between Abilene and San Angelo.

    From the afternoon until the pre-dawn hours of July 22, Wray testified Kristen and her two children were at her house. Kristen had the 4-year-old and her younger son.

    July 22:

    • 2:24 a.m.: Stephen and the Chrysler are seen on video at Stripes, 5655 Sherwood Way. Video shows Stephen gets gas while a passenger door appeared to open, indicating a passenger, officials said.
    • 3:30-4:15 a.m.: Phone information shows Stephen on State Highway 163, south of Barnhart. This is the area where Torrez's remains would be found on Aug. 4, 2017.
    • 10:14 a.m.: Garry and Stephen enter the Ballinger Stripes on Hutchins Avenue, according to video surveillance. Stephen’s phone also shows him on this road through 10:23 a.m.
    • 10:22 a.m.: Video from Jehovah Witness Church in Ballinger shows a gray pickup matching Torrez's driving toward the Walmart, followed by a silver car.

    It was the first day law enforcement arrived at the residence in search of Eric Torrez. No one answers.

    Investigators searched the Duckworth residence three times — July 25, 27, and Aug. 11, 2017. During those searches, Torrez's hair and blood were found on walls and in part of a mop bucket.

    On Aug. 4, 2017, more information and interviews led officials to Torrez’s remains in a pasture south of Barnhart in Crockett County, 289 feet from a fence.

    What happens next for Kristen Dean, David Navarro, and Angella Wray?

    Dean, Navarro and Wray were offered plea bargains in exchange for testifying at Stephen's trial. Wray and Navarro also testified against Garry. Each received an immunity agreement in which the state would not pursue additional charges.

    Court documents show Navarro’s plea bargain includes 25 years in jail, and the capital murder charge will be waived. His plea hearing will not happen until Kristen Dean and Garry Jennings’ cases have been resolved.

    Dean's plea bargain suggests 30 years for pleading guilty to a lesser murder charge and 20 years for aggravated kidnapping.

    Wray's offer recommended 10 years deferred adjudication for engaging in organized criminal activity. This is a type of probation that could help Wray avoid conviction if she adheres to conditions dictated by the state. The kidnapping charge could also be waived.

    As of 6:02 p.m., Friday, no plea hearings have been set for the three, according to online court records.

    On Dec. 10, 2021, 340th District Judge Jay Weatherby sentenced Stephen Jennings to life in prison without parole for both capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, as well as 20 years for tampering — the maximum sentences that could be delivered after prosecutors waived the death penalty.

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    "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."
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    - Rev. Richard Hawke

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  8. #8
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    Edited:

    San Angelo man becomes third sent to prison in 2017 kidnapping, murder of Abilene father


    By Alana Edgin
    GoSanAngelo

    SAN ANGELO — One of five people charged in the brutal kidnapping, torture and murder of an Abilene father near San Angelo has become the third man sent to prison in the case on Friday.On July 21, 2017, a series of events led Eric Torrez, a 41-year-old Abilene business owner, to be lured to San Angelo under false pretenses to bid on a job. Over the next several hours, Torrez was kidnapped and tortured in an attempt to find the location of his 4-year-old daughter.

    Torrez was then killed and taken to a field south of Barnhart, where his body would not be found until Aug. 4, 2017.

    On Friday, May 20, 2022, Navarro attended a plea hearing via Zoom in the 51st District Court. He was initially charged with capital murder by terroristic threat or other felony and aggravated kidnapping in connection to Torrez's death. He also had a pending case for assault on a family/household member with previous conviction, which is a third-degree felony.Navarro pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping and the assault. In exchange, state prosecutors suggested he be sentenced to 25 years in prison for the kidnapping and 2 years for the assault. He would also pay a fine of more than $8,600.

    51st District Judge Carmen Dusek accepted the recommendation and sentenced him to those terms. Navarro became the second man in the case to be sent to prison last week, with Garry Jennings having been sentenced Monday.

    Torrez's sister ended the hearing with a victim impact statement, as she had with the prior trials.

    "(Eric) mattered to my family, and you took that," she said. "Your blatant disregard and disrespect for human life ... I hope you take this time to think about what you did and understand your actions have consequences."

    What happens next for Kristen Dean and Angella Wray?

    Dean, Navarro and Wray were offered plea bargains in exchange for testifying at Stephen's trial. Wray and Navarro also testified against Garry. Each received an immunity agreement in which the state would not pursue additional charges.

    Dean's plea bargain suggests 30 years for pleading guilty to a lesser murder charge and 20 years for aggravated kidnapping.Wray's offer recommended 10 years deferred adjudication for engaging in organized criminal activity.

    This is a type of probation that could help Wray avoid conviction if she adheres to conditions dictated by the state. The kidnapping charge could also be waived.

    Garry and Stephen Jennings sentenced in Eric Torrez's death

    On Dec. 10, 2021, 340th District Judge Jay Weatherby sentenced Stephen Jennings to life in prison without parole for both capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, as well as 20 years for tampering — the maximum sentences that could be delivered after prosecutors waived the death penalty.

    On May 13, 2022, Garry Jennings was sentenced to 20 years each for murder, aggravated kidnapping, and tampering with evidence. This is the maximum sentence that could be given for tampering.

    https://www.gosanangelo.com/story/news/crime/2022/05/23/san-angelo-man-becomes-third-sent-prison-murder-torture-case/9828421002/
    "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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