A man accused of brutally murdering and dismembering a Texas mother using an electric chainsaw has been apprehended after evading capture for five years. The suspect, Erik Arceneaux, 51, was charged with the murder of 29-year-old Maria Jimenez-Rodriguez in 2019. Jimenez-Rodriguez disappeared on June 21, 2018, after dropping off her daughter at a babysitter’s home.
Jimenez-Rodriguez, who worked as a paralegal at the Milledge Law Firm, failed to show up for work that day. Colleagues received several unusual texts from her phone apologizing for her absence. The last text stated that she was being followed by three men. However, Jimenez-Rodriguez’s body has never been found, leaving her family searching for answers.
Houston Police Department
According to Samuel Milledge, Jimenez-Rodriguez’s boss and spokesperson for the family, a text message sent from her phone around the time of her disappearance raised suspicions. Milledge informed Houston’s KPRC-TV about the concerning message. However, he did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Jimenez-Rodriguez’s sister became worried when the babysitter informed her that she had not returned to pick up her daughter. Her sister used OnStar to track Jimenez-Rodriguez’s truck, which was found abandoned near a rail yard in northeast Houston. Her personal belongings were missing, prompting her sister to report her missing to the police.
During the investigation, Arceneaux claimed that he was Jimenez-Rodriguez’s boyfriend and had last seen her the night before her disappearance. He stated that she was supposed to pick him up the next morning for a job interview but never showed up. However, Jimenez-Rodriguez’s sister denied their romantic involvement and accused Arceneaux of being a stalker. Authorities later discovered evidence linking Arceneaux to the crime scene, including his presence in the vicinity where Jimenez-Rodriguez’s car was found.
Cellular data and surveillance footage revealed that both Jimenez-Rodriguez’s and Arceneaux’s phones traveled together on the day of her disappearance. They were tracked to a Home Depot store, where Arceneaux was captured on video purchasing an electric chainsaw and industrial trash bags. Subsequent testing at Arceneaux’s home revealed traces of blood that had been partially cleaned up.
An arrest warrant was issued for Arceneaux in August 2019 on charges of murder and dismemberment. However, he managed to evade capture until recently, when U.S. marshals apprehended him outside a business in southeast Houston. Prior to his arrest, Arceneaux had a history of violence, having previously pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in 2010.
The district attorney and Arceneaux’s attorney declined to comment on the case. Initially set at $250,000, Arceneaux’s bail was later revoked, and he is now held in the Harris County Jail.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
