HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Authorities are looking to arrest a man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death and dumping her body in a bayou earlier this month.
Oscar Daniel Vega Espinoza, 34, is charged with murder and tampering with evidence in connection with the Aug. 17 incident.
Just before 9 a.m., the Houston Police Department responded to a body found “in a late stage of decomposition” in Brays Bayou near Hockley Street.
The victim, identified by court documents as 30-year-old Ana Clelia Melendez Delarocha, was reportedly found with a stab wound to the chest.
Officials said Delarocha was last seen Aug. 15 and had been staying at a safe place to seek refuge from her abusive partner, who authorities identified as Espinoza.
Someone notified authorities that Delarocha was seen leaving on foot that night, leaving behind her personal belongings. Her roommate reported that Delarocha had agreed to meet with Espinoza to pick up some money and a vacuum cleaner, but she never returned. The Houston Area Women’s Center said money is a common way abusers try to leverage control over their victims.
“Economic abuse, the holding or leveraging of resources, is a very prime tactic abusers use to exercise control,” HAWC CEO Emilee Whitehurst said.
Surveillance video from that night shows Delarocha entering what officials believe to be Espinoza’s vehicle.
Days later, on Aug. 18, officials responded to a welfare check at an apartment complex to see if Espinoza had Delarocha. After failing to make contact with him, officers noticed a missing passenger seat in Espinoza’s vehicle, according to records.
Further investigation led authorities to charge Espinoza with the murder.
Court records also revealed there had been a long history of domestic violence, where Espinoza had allegedly assaulted, strangled, and threatened to kill Delarocha.
“We have to be very smart about trying to understand the dynamics of power and control and recognize where the harm is and recognize where the fault is, and it is not the survivor’s fault,” Whitehurst said.
Whitehurst said it’s often when survivors try to leave that the relationship becomes the most dangerous.
“They have built this entire dynamic around their ability to get that person to do what they want when they want, and they are now seeing that that control may not hold any longer,” Whitehurst said.
Anyone with information on Espinoza’s whereabouts in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or speak anonymously to Crime Stoppers.
Tipsters must contact Crime Stoppers directly to remain anonymous calling 713-222-TIPS (8477), submitting an online tip, or through the Crime Stoppers mobile app.
If you or a loved one is ever in a domestic violence situation, you can reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. You can also reach out to the Houston Area Women’s Center at 713-528-2121.
For more news updates, follow Lileana Pearson on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.