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Abraham Gaspar-Reyes was a church pastor and employee at a poultry plant residing in the Central Valley of California when he was killed in April 2016. His murder was the center of Season 18, Episode 5 of Snapped: Killer Couples. The episode delved into how the killing came about and the dynamics of his killers— Angelita Reyes and Jesus Jeronimo.
As per Oxygen, Abraham Gaspar-Reyes had been working on saving up to bring his long-distance wife from Mexico to the US to live with him. However, he later became romantically involved with a woman named Angelita Reyes. Their relationship, which lasted a little above a year, was allegedly tumultuous, and when it ended, Gaspar-Reyes began to refocus his efforts on bringing his estranged wife to the US.
According to Snapped: Killer Couples, Angelita and Abraham reportedly had a brief romantic relationship. She falsely accused him of blackmailing her after Abraham broke things off. She later talked her younger boyfriend, Jesus Jeronimo, into murdering Abraham.
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The murder was termed by investigators as premeditated. Abraham was dragged to a vineyard on the pretext of getting jewelry and was shot in the head. The episode aired on April 6, 2025, on Oxygen.
Abraham Gaspar-Reyes's life and abduction
Abraham Gaspar-Reyes was killed at the age of 40. He worked at a chicken factory and was an assistant pastor. He resided in Hanford, California, and spent weekdays with friends as he worked in Fresno County. On weekends, he went home to be with his mother, Tomasa Reyes and her husband. At the time, he had been separated from his wife, who was in Mexico, as he saved for her to join him in the US.
As per Snapped: Killer Couples, Abraham's mother became concerned when he did not return home one weekend in April 2016. Tomasa immediately contacted law enforcement. A missing persons report was filed, and a search commenced. Two days later, Abraham's body was found in an orchard in Earlimart, a rural community in Tulare County.
He was found wearing his church attire with a gunshot to the head. His truck and telephone were recovered near him, with fragments of Angelita Reyes's jewelry within the truck. These pieces of information enabled investigators to create a timeline and motive.
Investigation and confession
As the investigation progressed, police discovered that Abraham Gaspar-Reyes had been dating Angelita Reyes. According to friends and members of the church, the relationship fizzled out a few months before his death. Many characterized Angelita as being possessive. Pastor Lupe Moreno revealed to Snapped: Killer Couples that Angelita tended to dictate who Abraham was able to speak with.
Abraham Gaspar-Reyes's mother also remembered that Angelita had said:
"If I can't have your son, nobody can."
When Abraham later chose to pursue reunification with his wife, the relationship with Angelita was over. However, when Angelita subsequently told investigators that Abraham threatened to send out private photos of her in order to force her into continuing their relationship, they were not convinced by this account, citing it as not being believable.
Angelita had told this tale to her then-boyfriend and roommate, Jesus Jeronimo, who was 22 years old at the time. Convinced by her account, Jeronimo took a gun from a friend, Arturo Pompa, to scare Abraham. Jeronimo admitted to having enticed Abraham to the orchard with Angelita.
At the orchard, he shot Abraham Gaspar-Reyes with a Desert Eagle .44 magnum. Prosecutors said that the couple employed the ruse of returning some missing jewelry as a means of inviting Abraham to the spot. Proof, such as phone records and the murder weapon, linked both Reyes and Jeronimo to the crime.
Trial and outcome
Both Jesus Jeronimo and Angelita Reyes were prosecuted in July 2018 in Tulare County and found guilty of first-degree murder. According to Snapped: Killer Couples, the prosecutors explained that though Jeronimo had fired the shots, Angelita orchestrated the murder.
During the trial, investigators explained how Angelita had tricked Jeronimo into thinking she was in harm's way. Tulare County Senior Deputy District Attorney Samantha Arnerich explained to Snapped that Angelita "spun this story about being the damsel in distress" to manipulate Jeronimo into action.
Both defendants were found guilty by the jury. Both received life imprisonment sentences without the chance of parole. Arturo Pompa was charged with delivering the weapon but was acquitted for lack of evidence against him directly connected to the killing.
Tomasa Reyes, Abraham Gaspar-Reyes's mother, also expressed her sorrow during the episode, stating,
"It is a sad, hard pain. But my happiness is that he is with God."
The murder of Abraham Gaspar-Reyes was explored in Snapped: Killer Couples.
