Delacruz Capital Murder Trial Resumes March 19th

SAN ANGELO, TX -- Attorneys in the Isidro Delacruz capital murder trial have narrowed the jury pool from 325 to 53 and will meet March 19 to strike the remaining potential jurors until the reach a panel of twelve then the trial will begin in the Tom Green County Courthouse.   

Delacruz is accused of slashing the throat of 5-year-old Naiya Villegas, who was his girlfriend’s daughter.

As we reported earlier, according to a complaint filed by investigator Carlton T. Kolbe, the suspect, 23-year-old Isidro Miguel Delacruz, entered the residence of his ex-girlfriend, Tanya Bermea through a back window shortly before committing the murder and refused to leave.

At the time of the break-in, only Bermea and her daughter, Villegas, were in the house, however shortly thereafter Bermea exited to call her mother, Jesusita Bermea and the two returned, but De La Cruz refused to let them back inside.

Bermea then drove to Delacruz’s mother’s house, located in the 3100 block of Lindell St., to seek assistance in removing Delacruz from the residence, and when she returned her daughter’s throat had been slit and Delacruz was covering the wound with paper towels, the complaint states.

“Tanya Bermea said that when she walked into the residence the defendant got up and punched her several times, then pushed her outside onto the sidewalk and started choking her,” Detective Kolbe wrote.

Responding officer Marcus Rodriguez reported that he had been dispatched to the scene for a civil disturbance, and upon arrival found Bermea in the front yard and observed Delacruz walking into the residence.

Once inside, Rodriguez observed Villegas lying on the living room floor and Delacruz holding paper towels to the victim’s throat.

Kolbe’s walk-through of the residence turned up a horrific scene, with blood on the walls, blinds, floor and Villegas’ bedroom, as well as in the kitchen mixed with water. Crime scene photos of Delacruz revealed a laceration on the back of his left upper arm.

The suspected murder weapon was found underneath a vehicle parked at the end of a walkway, where blood visibly marked the area.

Following their arrival on scene, police immediately took Delacruz into custody and transported him to the county jail, where he was booked for murder.

Tanya Bermea, Jesusita Bermea and Naiya Villegas were transported to the hospital. Villegas succumbed to her injuries within an hour of the initial call made to dispatch. Both Bermeas were treated for non life-threatening injuries.

Attorneys and District Judge Ben Woodward agreed that pretrial publicity including reporting of San Angelo Live required such a large jury pool.  Initial jury selection was held in the McNease Convention Center because there was not a courtroom large enough to accomodate that many potential jurors.