Family of pregnant woman murdered sues Harris County for releasing suspect out on bond
HOUSTON - The family of a pregnant woman murdered two years ago has filed a lawsuit against Harris County for allowing the suspect out on bond.
The victim’s mother says she and her daughter were relying on the system to hold her abuser accountable behind bars. Instead, he was released out on bond again.
Melanie Infinger was in tears as she relived the gruesome details of her daughter, Caitlynne’s, murder in August of 2019.
"We all knew he was very capable. We knew he needed to be held accountable," said Infinger.
Caitlynne was 17 weeks pregnant when Pasadena Police say her then-husband, Alex Guajardo, stabbed her 20 times killing her and her unborn child.
SIGN UP FOR FOX 26 HOUSTON EMAIL ALERTS
Guajardo was out on two PR bonds: one for a DWI and another for killing Caitlynne’s pet cat and assaulting his wife days before.
"I just remember thinking like who in their right mind would let out someone who killed a cat, who’s out on PR bonds."
"While he was murdering Caitlynne in the act, like right before it started to the time it ended, he actually called my daughter's best friend and said here Caitlynne wants to talk to you. The entire murder from start to finish is on a voicemail. Her best friend woke up to that voicemail the next morning," Infinger said.
"He proclaimed to the judge he stabbed her in the stomach so many times because he wanted to make sure that the baby was dead, because he wasn’t going to have another man raise his child," said attorney Ben Crump.
Crump filed the lawsuit on behalf of Melanie and her family.
Court documents names more than two dozen Harris County judges and magistrates, accusing them of handing out PR bonds to violent offenders like Alex Guajardo.
"Harris County, we can do better. We can’t have violent criminals roaming the streets, ravaging the community, and putting innocent lives at stake," Crump said.
FOR THE LATEST NEWS UPDATES, DOWNLOAD THE FOX 26 NEWS APP
FOX 26 reached out to Harris County for comment. As of Wednesday night, officials have not released a statement responding to the lawsuit.
Infinger has also been working with Texas Senator Paul Bettencourt to pass the bill called Caitlynne’s Law, which would require judges to stop issuing PR bonds to repeat offenders.