Man Charged with the Capital Murder of Eric Torrez has a Court Date Monday

SAN ANGELO, TX -- Two men charged with capital murder are scheduled to be in court in San Angelo on Monday.  

The punishment phase of Isidro Delacruz’s capital murder trial is set to resume Monday.  District Judge Ben Woodward on Wednesday recessed the trial and sent the jury home until Monday while attorneys work on what the Judge called a “bump in the road.”  Delacruz was found guilty of capital murder and faces a sentence of life in prison without parole or the death penalty.

Also on Monday, 34-year-old Stephen Lynn Jennings has his first pretrial hearing.  Jennings was arrested in July 2017 in the murder of Eric Torrez. Jennings is charged with capital murder by terroristic threat, aggravated kidnapping and tampering with physical evidence/human corpse.  

As we reported back in August, Torrez went missing July 21 from Abilene in what previous reporting suggests was a dispute with his ex-wife. His body was discovered in a pasture 8 miles south of Barnhart Friday. The Sheriff has three in custody while the investigation continues, including Torrez's ex-wife, Kristen Jennings, who is held in the Taylor County Jail on charges of breaking and entering with intent to commit another felony. Stephen Lynn Jennings, Kristin Jennings' current husband, and Gary Lynn Jennings, Stephen's father, are being held for the offense of tamper or fabricate with physical evidence with intent to impair.

Jennings’ murder charges stem from the July 21 disappearance of Eric Torrez, who was reported missing after leaving the Abilene area for San Angelo. The Sheriff suspected foul play. Last Friday, the Sheriff found Torrez’s body in a pasture eight miles south of Barnhart.

Jennings has a pretrial hearing set for 1:30 p.m. Monday in front of District Judge Jay Weatherby.