BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Elena Sanchez Moreno pled guilty in October to stealing approximately $50,000 from families who paid her to make their loved ones cemetery headstones.
This is a story KSAT has covered since February 2024 when the first family reached out to the station for help.
More than a dozen families joined the criminal trial that led to Moreno’s arrest.
During a hearing in October, Judge Stephanie Boyd in Bexar County’s 187th Criminal District Court told Moreno that she had until December to pay the full amount back to the victims. If she didn’t, Moreno could face jail time.
Moreno appeared in court for the latest hearing on Tuesday. She confirmed she had collected 70 percent of that restitution, which amounted to approximately $37,000 of the $50,000.
Boyd gave Moreno until April 6, 2026, to come up with the rest of the money.
Moreno could still be sentenced after that, but details surrounding a potential sentencing were not discussed in court on Tuesday.
The move came as a shock for dozens of victims who showed up to court. They expected Moreno to be sentenced since she didn’t come up with the full amount.
“It’s not about the money. She still has to pay her crime,” said Veronica Sanchez, who originally came to KSAT with the story when Moreno never delivered her father’s headstone. “She knew what she was doing. She did it year after year after year. She deserves to be behind bars. My niece flew in from North Carolina for this sentencing, and now she has to come back.”
“We were led to believe she was either going to come up with 100 percent of what she owed or she was getting sentenced,” another victim said.
“You don’t say one thing and then do another,” a third victim said. “To me, I feel re-victimized again. I’ve been going through this like everyone else six years already. My husband has been dead six years, and I’ve been waiting for his monument from her and nothing. To me, this is a stab in the heart.”
KSAT was in court on Tuesday when the victims met with Bexar County prosecutor Lauren Espinosa to ask questions and express their concern.
“I completely understand your frustration,” Espinosa said. “My argument is going to stay the same regardless of that payment.”
When asked what may happen in April 2026, Espinosa told the victims, “It’s that open plea, so (the) state (prosecution) will be asking for prison. The defense will probably be asking for that sentence to be suspended and probated.”
The 70 percent of the restitution that Moreno brought to court will be distributed amongst the victims now as they await the rest of the money come April.
The victims’ families said they all plan to be at Moreno’s next hearing on April 6, 2026.
More coverage of this story on KSAT: