Laura Grillo, a volunteer with the Rowlett Police Department and mother-of-three, was scheduled to marry her fiancé Ioannis "John" Makris in November 2015, when a week before they were to tie the knot, she was shot to death in her home. Grillo's autistic brother, who is partially deaf, was sleeping in the same house at the time. Grillo died of a single gunshot wound to the head.
A subsequent investigation into the shooting, which initally looked like the result of a burglary-gone-wrong, unearthed shocking details about her seemingly perfect relationship with John Makris. With the help of surveillance footage, phone records, and crucial tips, detectives uncovered a twisted murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by Makris, involving two of his employees, Jesus Trevino and James Villeda.
An upcoming episode of ID's A Time to Kill will chronicle Laura Grillo's murder-for-hire case. The episode, titled Devil at the Depot, airs on the channel this Thursday, May 25, at 9:00 pm ET. Here's the synopsis for the episode:
"A gunman kills volunteer police officer Laura Grillo in her suburban Dallas home; investigators must link a bombshell accusation to an email with a diabolical mastermind who thinks he can outsmart the law."
Laura Grillo's murder: A suspicious crime scene and fiancé, digital clues, and other details from the murder-for-hire case
1) The crime scene at Laura Grillo's house suggested a burglary-gone-wrong
Laura Grillo, a mother-of-three, was tragically gunned down in her Rowlett, Texas, home in the afternoon hours of November 13, 2015, a week before she was scheduled to marry her fiancé. She died of a single gunshot wound to the head, and her autistic brother was the first to find her body on the kitchen floor.
While there were no signs of a break-in at the house, her bedroom seemed to have been ransacked. A couple of drawers were turned over, and its items scattered around. Moreover, an empty safe lay wide open. According to her fiancé John Makris, there were at least $8,000 to $9,000 in the safe prior to the incident. Detectives believed she was killed during a botched burglary.
2) Laura Grillo's fiancé started acting suspicious after the shooting incident
Grillo's fiancé John Makris appeared to be emotionless and seemed unaffected by the killing of the woman he was to marry in a week. Detectives realized that Makris "didn't seem overly upset" and stated that he was not reacting in the way that one might expect someone to act in that position.
When questioned about his whereabouts at the time of the murder, Makris informed detectives that he left the house around the same time as Grillo on the morning of the murder and then headed to a Home Depot in Dallas County. He claimed to have met two of his employees, Jesus Trevino and James Villeda, there, to allegedly purchase supplies for a home-remodeling business he and the victim co-owned. His alibi was backed by surveillance footage.
3) Phone records of John Makris and two of his employees implicated them in the crime
While looking into Makris as a potential suspect, detectives discovered an email sent by Laura Grillo in June of that year on his phone, in which she expressed her dissatisfaction with their relationship and declared her desire to end it.
However, the very next month, he proposed to her and the pair reconciled. Furthermore, Jesus Trevino and James Villeda's phone records indicated that they were in the Rowlett area at the time of the murder.
4) Jesus Trevino told his ex-girlfriend that "his boss [John Makris] was hiring him to kill his wife"
Trevino and Villeda's phone records stirred curiosity and suspicion that they may have been involved in the crime, and therefore, detectives started digging deeper into their pasts, only to uncover that both men were convicted s*x offenders and had extensive criminal histories.
Next, Trevino's ex-girlfriend tipped off authorities, informing that he once told her that "his boss [John Makris] was hiring him to kill his wife [Laura Grillo]" and promised to pay him $15,000 in return.
Detectives connected the dots to a man named Ramone, who previously worked for John Makris and claimed that he was aware about the murder-for-hire plot. Ramone then led them to Trevino's former roommate, who revealed that he had made an offer to pay him to drive the getaway car during the hit.
5) James Villeda, who was arrested on unrelated drug chages, confessed
Villeda, who was arrested on unrelated drug charges, confessed to his involvement in Laura Grillo's murder and agreed to testify against both John Makris and Jesus Trevino, in exchange for a sentence of 25 years as part of a plea deal. Jesus Trevino and John Makris were later charged for Grillo's murder.
As per Oxygen, Vellida told detectives that he and Trevino drove a silver KIA that Makris had bought for them to use during the murder, and that he acted as the driver for the getaway car. Then, on the day of the murder, Trevino entered Grillo's Rowlett house using the security code Makris gave him and waited for her to come home. He then ambushed her before fatally shooting her in the head.
While fleeing the scene, Trevino tossed his clothing out the window, and dumped the pistol in a garbage in Dallas. They left the car at a body shop.
Jesus Trevino and John Makris were found guilty of capital murder and given respective life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Learn more about Laura Grillo's murder-for-hire case in the upcoming episode of ID's A Time to Kill this Thursday, May 25, at 9 pm ET.