How Delacruz was Found Guilty of Capital Murder

SAN ANGELO, TX—The jury took about three hours Thursday afternoon to convict Isidro Delacruz of capital murder in the death of 5-year-old Naiya Villegas. The murder happened during the early morning hours of Sept. 2, 2014.

Taking Good Friday off, the jurors were released until Monday morning when the punishment phase of the trial begins.  

The eight women and four men on the jury have been involved in this case since mid January when 328 people were summoned to the McNease Convention Center.  Of those 328 potential jurors, these 12 were selected by prosecutors and defense attorneys over several weeks. Last Monday, 53 potential jurors met and attorneys made their final strikes. The 12 jurors and two alternates heard evidence over nine days.  

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Above: Naiya Villegas photo from a 2014 San Angelo Live Story. 

Many of the jurors cried when District Attorney Allison Palmer showed them a picture of Naiya in the operating room.  The pictures showed the horrific wounds to the girl’s neck. Jurors also cried when Tanya Bermea was put on the stand Wednesday by defense attorneys. She broke down sobbing and wailing three times, two of those times the judge had to call for a break to give Bermea time to recompose herself. Body language of jurors appeared to suggest they believed the mother. 

One of the pieces of evidence that impacted the jury was the video of Delacruz in his interview with investigators at the San Angelo Police station.  In that interview, Delacruz told police that knife was his and he threw the knife at Tanya Bermea after slapping her in the face.

Jurors requested six pieces of evidence during deliberations Thursday; the SNG Satellite surveillance video, the video of Delacruz in the back of the patrol car at the crime scene, the video interview of Delacruz at the police station, Tanya Bermea’s phone records, all phone and Facebook records as well as the DNA chart mapping blood samples taken throughout the house.

Defense attorneys argued Thursday morning to include lesser charges to the jury’s instructions including injury to a child including death.  Judge Woodward denied their motions so the only charge the jury could consider Thursday was the capital murder charge and the only penalties of life in prison or the death penalty.  

In closing arguments, District Attorney Allison Palmer told the jury that Isidro Delacruz broke into the house through the bathroom window and was hunting Tanya Bermea.  Bermea fled the house out the front door and ran down Houston St. which is documented in the surveillance video from SNG Satellite. Then Delacruz could be seen on video running down the street.  Palmer said he was hunting her.

Palmer then told jurors that Bermea’s mother picked her up and drove her back to the house and they arrived shortly after Delacruz could be seen in the video running back into the house.  Palmer said Tanya Bermea never got back into the house. Instead she was beaten up by Delacruz who attacked her and her mother. She told jurors that Delaruz went back into the house and cut Naiya’s throat but she fought back.  That’s why she had bruising on her face. Palmer told jurors as they were weeping that Naiya fought back and her DNA was all over Delacruz’s shirt and pants and shoes. Palmer said that was Naiya telling us who killed her.

Defense attorneys told a different story.  Rob Cowie told jurors Tanya Bermea and Isidro Delacruz were both drunk in a dark room with a knife and Delacruz got a cut on his arm and Naiya ended up dead.  

The punishment range for capital murder in Texas is life in prison or the death penalty by lethal injection.  On Monday, jurors may hear additional evidence about Delacruz’s past criminal history, evidence about his character, and they may hear from other witnesses.