Woman Charged With Murder for Shanking Boyfriend During Fight

SAN ANGELO— A San Angelo woman has been arrested for murder after allegedly stabbing her boyfriend who later died from his wounds, something she claims was self-defense.

As we reported first on Saturday, Ebony Monique Gasca, 26, was arrested for Murder Friday after stabbing her boyfriend.

According to court documents, on December 26, 2023, San Angelo police responded to the 300 block of West 13th Street at around 6:35 p.m. for an unknown problem. On scene, police saw a man who was suffering from stab wounds. Once medics arrived, they rushed the victim to Shannon Medical Center where he would die of his wounds.

The individual who called 911 was interviewed and stated that she found the man lying at the end of the driveway at the residence. He was sitting up and was struggling to breathe. The caller said she called the emergency dispatch but was unaware of the victim’s injuries.

The defendant, identified as Gasca, was interviewed and said she and the victim were boyfriend and girlfriend. They had allegedly gotten into a verbal altercation at the residence on the 300 block of West 13th Street. This argument continued between the couple as they drove to a Dollar General. While inside the vehicle, Gasca claimed the argument turned physical when he struck her across the face.

The two kept arguing as they made their way into the Dollar General and as they returned to the house that became the scene of the crime. Gasca stated that at some point, the victim snatched her cellphone from her hands through the vehicle window and refused to give it back to her. As Gasca exited the vehicle, she picked up a homemade knife that she described as a “prison shank” and put it in her left pocket.

According to Gasca, as she tried to retrieve her phone, the victim placed her in a chokehold, which Gasca responded with stabbing the victim twice with the "prison shank." She said the victim released her and she grabbed her phone from the ground and left the scene. Gasca claimed that while she was in a chokehold, a witness came out of the house in an attempt to assist her. Gasca did not call law enforcement after fleeing the scene and instead called several other individuals to inform them she had stabbed the victim and that the witness, identified as Shevetra Mathis, also stabbed the victim.

Investigators did not locate any discoloration or abrasions on Gasca’s body that would be consistent with being involved in a physical altercation. However, she did have a bump on her head, which she claimed was from the victim hitting her. Gasca’s cellphone also had damage on the side of it.

Another detective had interviewed one of the individuals that Gasca called who said that Gasca told her that she stabbed the victim. Then, about five to 10 minutes later, Gasca showed up at the woman’s apartment and asked for a change of clothes. Gasca’s shirt was located in the apartment and the front of it was torn. The woman then took Gasca home.

In an interview with the victim’s brother, he said that he received six phone calls from Gasca in succession. When he returned Gasca’s phone call, he learned that she had allegedly stabbed his brother.

Then, Mathis was interviewed, who stated that she saw Gasca and the victim involved in a physical altercation and that the victim had placed Gasca in a chokehold. In response to seeing this, Mathis claims that she grabbed a knife from the residence, went outside, approached the victim, and stabbed him in the chest. After she stabbed him, she pushed him to the ground. Mathis did not call law enforcement after stabbing the victim.

Video surveillance from the Dollar General showed at 6:06 p.m. a black Ford Fusion, the same vehicle Gasca claimed to have fled in, was filmed arriving at the store. The victim and Gasca were seen exiting the vehicle, but they did not appear to be in any type of verbal or physical altercation either outside or inside the store.

A search warrant was granted for Mathis’ cell phone and video evidence showed the victim and Gasca engaging in an argument inside the residence at 6:27 p.m. Gasca was observed yelling and becoming aggressive towards the victim, even trying to pull his clothing from his body. Other than that, no physical altercation was observable through the recording.

A Crime Scene Investigator said that she had reviewed the photos of Gasca’s face, neck, chest, and eyes. The photos were captured using Secure Digital Forensic Imaging, or SDFI, which is capable of inverting photos to show deep tissue bruising not visible to the eye. The crime scene investigator did not see any discoloration to Gasca’s skin, either while taking the photos or after running the photos through the SDFI software.

The victim had injuries and wounds to his right hip, left abdomen area, chest, and bottom lip. Also, the victim had abrasions to his right elbow and fingers and also had gashes to his head and abdomen.

Gasca was arrested by the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Deputies on January 19, 2024, and charged with murder. Her bond is listed at $500,000.