A man is in police custody after being charged with shooting his girlfriend during an argument near Downtown Houston.
Francisco Ochoa, 19, has been charged with manslaughter.
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According to charging documents, Ochoa brought 24-year-old Joselyn Espinoza to St. Joseph Hospital in Downtown Houston after she had suffered a gunshot wound to the head. She was transported to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead 9:15 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15.
The shooting occurred around 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 15. Surveillance footage at a Palace Inn Motel captured a green Chevrolet Silverado parking on the west side of the building.
After the truck parked, a man—believed to be Ochoa—was seen getting out and aggressively trying to open the passenger’s side door, which was locked. Ochoa went back to the driver’s side of the truck, but Espinoza, the passenger in the vehicle, attempted to lock the door to keep him from being able to get in.
At this point, the man began banging on the driver’s side window with a handgun. He shattered the glass by striking it with the gun, but the gun discharged and presumably struck Espinoza in the head. After the gun fired, Ochoa went back to the passenger’s side and opened the door, and Espinoza’s body fell into his arms. He pushed her body back into the car, got back in, and left the scene.
Detectives attempted to speak with Ochoa, but he refused to answer questions or consent to a search of his truck. Authorities also said that Ochoa initially provided patrol officers with two different statements surrounding the shooting that conflicted each other.
Officers seized Ochoa’s truck and transported it to the Houston Forensic Science Center pending a search warrant. After the warrant was obtained, they found blood in the truck. The driver’s side window was also broken.
Detectives also spoke with Espinoza’s mother and aunt, who said Joselyn had been dating a man named “Francisco” for a couple of months.
Shortly after Houton Police Department announced that Ochoa was wanted in connection to the crime on Sept. 20., he turned himself in. He is currently in the Harris County Sheriff’s Office’s Inmate Processing Center.