Maria owned and operated a family business called the Apollo Beach Family Restaurant.
On the morning of January 3, 1999, Hernandez-Alberto and Maria continued an ongoing argument about ownership of the home and restaurant. Hernandez-Alberto insisted that his name be placed on the title to the home and restaurant, which Maria owned before their marriage.
Maria left the home to go to work at the restaurant. After Maria’s departure, Hernandez-Alberto confronted Donna in the family room. When she refused to pick up a toy, he struck her on the head, knocking her to the floor. As she lay face down on the floor, he removed a gun from his fanny pack and shot her in the back, killing her.
After shooting Donna, Hernandez-Alberto drove to the restaurant where Maria and Isela were working. He confronted Isela in the kitchen and shot her three times – once in the lower back, once in the upper back, and once in the neck.
After shooting Isela, Hernandez-Alberto fled toward Mexico, but was arrested in Brookshire, Texas. He was interviewed by the Brookshire police chief and confessed to shooting and killing both Donna and Isela.
