'I cut it up in pieces': Woman admits to role in gruesome murder in court

SAN ANTONIO – Candie Dominguez, 39, who is facing murder charges and testified as part of a plea bargain, admitted Monday in court to her role in the murder of her cousin, Jose Luis Menchaca, 35, on the evening of Sept. 30, 2014.

Dominguez was testifying in the trial of Gabriel Moreno, 36, who is accused of murder in Menchaca’s beating death.

Dominguez told the court how she lured Menchaca to her home, where Moreno and her boyfriend, Daniel Lopez, beat him to death with baseball bats.

Dominguez said she watched and did nothing as the two killed Menchaca.

Afterward, she said, his body was taken to a shed in her backyard.

“I cut it up in pieces,” Dominguez said calmly.

She said that she did so on orders from Lopez, who then told her to burn Menchaca’s limbs on a backyard barbeque grill.

“It took a while because we weren’t on it, like doing other things, like maybe two days," she said. 

Dominguez said that Menchca had stabbed Lopez a week earlier during a drug deal that didn't go as planned.

On orders from Lopez, she testified, she lured her cousin to her home, where he was killed as revenge for stabbing Lopez.

Lopez has been tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

If convicted, Moreno is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison

Dominguez testified as part of a plea deal. Her testimony was in exchange for a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Testimony is expected to continue Tuesday in Moreno’s trial in Judge Ron Rangel’s 379th District Court.


About the Author:

Paul Venema is a courthouse reporter for KSAT with more than 25 years experience in the role.