SAN ANTONIO – Testimony is underway in the murder trial of a San Antonio man accused of killing his wife more than five and a half years ago.
Guadalupe Contreras is charged with murder for the 2017 death of Elizabeth Contreras whose body was found in the 12800 block of Old Corpus Christi Road.
During the first day of the trial, neither side made opening statements and the prosecution immediately started with their first witness, Elizabeth Contreras’ ex-husband Joe Munoz.
Munoz spoke about his relationship with his ex-wife and how they shared a daughter together. He told the court that in early 2017, he and Elizabeth were talking again and she had moved back in with him after she separated from her husband Guadalupe Contreras.
“We weren’t arguing and we were even speaking about getting a home for ourselves,” Munoz said.
At the time Elizabeth Contreras was working nights at Methodist Hospital and on Aug. 2, 201,7 she told Munoz she was going to go pick up her work schedule and talk to her supervisor.
Munoz said he didn’t understand why she couldn’t just call because it was around 10:30 p.m. When he woke up in the middle of the night he noticed she wasn’t back and grew concerned. By the morning he started reaching out to her family and friends.
“Everyone was just concerned and wondering where she was at,” Munoz said. “It wasn’t like her to do something like that.”
Munoz’s testimony also revealed that he was aware that Elizabeth had a second phone and was still talking with her estranged husband Guadalupe Contreras.
In cross-examination, Munoz admitted he didn’t like Guadalupe Contreras and that in the weeks leading up to Elizabeth’s disappearance, he had been arguing with her about her relationship with Guadalupe and said he even sent him threatening text messages.
In 2017, investigators said cellphone and GPS data led them to arrest Guadalupe Contreras.
Testimony will continue Wednesday afternoon.
If found guilty, Guadalupe Contreras faces up to life in prison.