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HOUSTON - Jorge Trevino Cardenas was sentenced to life in prison for the brutal 2009 murder of a mother of five in a case that went cold for more than a decade.
The 52-year-old's verdict was announced on Thursday by the Harris County District Attorney's Office in the murder of 38-year-old Domitila Alvarez.
Cardenas, who was already serving time for a separate conviction of sexual assault of a child, was identified as the murderer through a DNA match. When he was arrested for that sexual assault in 2014, his DNA was put on file.
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The breakthrough came in 2021 when the Houston Police Department’s Cold Case Squad reopened the investigation and reexamined the evidence. DNA found at the crime scene was matched to Cardenas.
"This was a horrific crime when it happened, and no one in law enforcement ever stopped looking for the killer," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. "Even after the case went cold, investigators kept working on it and when charges were filed, prosecutors were able to get justice for the victim and her family."
Alvarez was found dead on April 24, 2009, at her family’s auto shop in the Alief area. She had gone to the shop alone that evening to handle business matters but was later found by family members, stabbed multiple times during an altercation. Bloodstains were found at various areas including the door leading out of the office, security bars outside the door, and on a parked truck outside. The investigation hit a dead end due to a lack of leads.
The case was revived in 2021, and investigators quickly connected Cardenas’s DNA to blood found on Alvarez’s clothing, and the other locations at the shop. Authorities believe that Cardenas likely cut himself during the violent confrontation, leaving behind DNA mixed with the victim’s blood.
Cardenas was charged with murder in January 2023. Following a four-day trial, a jury convicted him, and a judge handed down a life sentence. He must serve at least 30 years before being eligible for parole.
A witness testified that Cardenas had lived near the auto shop in 2009, worked as a security guard nearby, and was known to carry a long, serrated knife. Medical experts confirmed Alvarez’s fatal injuries were caused by such a weapon, strengthening the case against Cardenas.