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Jose Luis Menchaca was a 35-year-old man who was brutally beaten to death with baseball bats on September 30, 2014. His girlfriend, Sylvia Flores, told the jury that she saw her boyfriend begging for his while he was being gagged and covered in blood.
Both of them were addicted to heroin and were lured to a Hillwood House in Northwest Side, Georgia, for a drug exchange. Flores was held captive for days, while the remains of Jose Luis Menchaca were found in trash bags. The culprits reportedly burnt the dismembered remains in a barbecue grill in the backyard.
The story of Jose Luis Menchaca includes drug abuse, rivalry, and vengeance. Viewers can see the complete investigation behind the murderer of Menchaca and the span of his crimes in season 6 of Netflix's I AM A KILLER. The series was released on January 8, 2025.
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What happened to Jose Luis Menchaca
According to San Antonio Express-News, per the testimony provided by Sylvia Flores. it was on September 30, 2014 when she saw her boyfriend, Menchaca, covered in blood, begging for his life while he was being brutally beaten with aluminum baseball bats by two men. As per Flores, he was repeatedly slipping in and out of consciousness and telling her that he loved her.
The same media outlet published on September 30, 2022 that Daniel Moreno Lopez and his cousin Gabriel Moreno were the two men behind the horrendous crime. Both of them were related to an illegal drug business, and two days back, Lopez was stabbed by the victim out of a mishandled drug deal.
Candie Dominguez was the cousin of Menchaca, who also happened to be Lopez's girlfriend at that time. Lopez took the opportunity and told Dominguez and Moreno's girlfriend, Sabrina Cavazos, to lure the victim into their house on Hillwood Drive. Menchaca was told about a deal of stolen Mary Kay makeup in exchange for drugs.
He went to Lopez's residence along with his girlfriend Flores, but right when they entered the master bedroom, Lopez and Moreno started attacking Menchaca. while Flores was held captive. As per a KSTAT article published on November 2, 2018, the offenders beat the victim to death with brutal smacking from the aluminum bats before choking him to death.
The same news outlet reported that Prosecutor Ludwig told Judge Rangel,
"They beat him mercilessly because Daniel Lopez wanted to hear him scream."
Additionally, Daniel Moreno Lopez had allegedly earlier murdered his ex-girlfriend in 2014 and butchered her body into pieces before burning them in the barbeque grill.
Sylvia Flores was held captive after her boyfriend's death
As reported in another San Antonio Express-News article, published on March 1, 2028, after killing Jose Luis Menchaca, his girlfriend was forcefully taken to the restroom. As per Flores, they stripped her out of her clothes before tying her by the hands and feet. She estimated being held captive in the Hillwood House for almost 3 days before moving to another residence in the 9100 block of Canter Horse Drive on the Northwest Side.
She didn't know what had happened to Menchaca until Lopez took her back to the Hillwood house and showed her the barbeque grill. As per Flores, she discovered her boyfriend's dismembered remains on the grill while Lopez was poking at it with a stick. After days of being held captive, she was taken to a male friend's house because she didn't have any clothes.
According to Flores, he gave him $25 and a cellphone. She called a taxi and immediately made her escape. Her case was taken by Judge Ron Rangel from the 379th State District Court.
What happened to the culprits behind the murder of Jose Luis Menchaca
As per San Antonio Express-News, Dennis Austin is the cousin of Daniel Moreno Lopez and Gabriel Moreno. He mentioned to the jury that while the gruesome murder was taking place, he entered the room and saw the walls and couch covered in blood.
Austin said that Jose Luis Menchaca was alive still begging for help, however, he couldn't interrupt or call the police, knowing this could threaten his own life. As per Austin's description, the victim was suffocated with a pillow and then with plastic bags. A week later, Menchaca's head and torso were found in trash bags in a garage. The victim's face was found with its mouth covered in duct tape.
The police arrested Daniel Moreno Lopez and Candie Dominguez, while the rest of the members were freed in exchange for their testimonies. As per KSTAT, the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center was covered with tight security, including deputies, and SWAT officer Lopez was held in the courtroom.
As per attorney J. Charles Bunk, Lopez had a history of brutal crimes, being in trouble with the law, and was declared extremely dangerous. It was in June 2018 when he was convicted of the murder of Jose Luis Menchaca. He erupted in anger and had to be physically manhandled by security officials to prevent any threat to the civilians.
It was in November 2018 when Daniel Moreno Lopez was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment without any chance for parole for the next 30 years. As per San Antonio News-Express, he threatened his attorney and had to be held by two armed officers in the jury box. SWAT officials forcefully took him out of the courtroom, which caused shock among the media officials as he blew a kiss in front of the camera.
The trial for Gabriel Moreno, took place in March 2018, at the 379th State District Court, however, it ended in a mistrial. The state witness testified that the DNA samples or fingerprints found at the crime scene did not match Moreno. He was transferred to a second jury that found him not guilty.
Lopez's girlfriend, Candie Dominguez, was also put on trial in February 2019, where she was found guilty of being involved in the crime. She was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment without a chance for parole for 15 years.
To know more about the murder of Jose Luis Menchaca, watch the season 6 of Netflix's I AM A KILLER.
