2 teens charged in Texas City slaying scheme

Pair of teens charged with murder in alleged revenge plot for stolen bank card, police say

Two teenagers are arrested on murder charges for allegedly faking a home invasion and beating a Texas City woman to death while the mastermind of the plot posed as a victim, according to police.

Two teenagers were arrested Wednesday on murder charges for allegedly faking a home invasion and beating a Texas City woman to death while the mastermind of the plot posed as a victim, according to police.

The motive for the staged break-in and fatal beating was to avenge the homicide victim’s use of a bank card without the owner’s permission, Texas City police alleged in charging documents.

Cory McCray, 19, and Cindy Esquivel, 17, were taken into custody Wednesday after they were stopped by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers on Interstate 37 between McCoy and Pleasanton in Atascosa County, south of San Antonio. They are charged with murder in the death of Lucia Bertrand, 33.

Murder warrants had been issued in Galveston County for McCray and Esquivel in connection with the death of Bertrand, who was found inside her Texas City home Aug. 9.

McCray is in custody at Atascosa County Jail, while Esquivel was transported to Atascosa County Juvenile Detention Center. McCray and Esquivel each have bail set at $250,000 and are expected to be transported to Galveston County to face charges.

Amy Lynne Medina, 37, identi-

fied as Esquivel’s mother, was arrested the day after Bertrand was found and charged with murder in Bertrand’s death.

Medina allegedly orchestrated a plan to rob and kill Bertrand as revenge for Bertrand having used Medina’s bank card without permission, police said.

Relatives and acquaintances interviewed by Texas City police detectives, including Esquivel’s biological father, Daniel Reyes, say Medina plotted with McCray and Esquivel to break into Bertrand’s home the night of Aug. 8. Medina was at the residence to give the appearance of a home invasion.

When Medina was arrested, she admitted to threatening Bertrand after finding that she had used her bank card to withdraw money and told investigators she was in the home when Bertrand was killed.

Medina told investigators that while she was lying on Bertrand’s couch, two people dressed in black kicked in the door and attacked the two women, according to the complaint. Medina said that the two attackers beat her and Bertrand but that she eventually stopped fighting them while Bertrand resisted until the attackers killed her.

Reyes, Esquivel’s father, told investigators that Esquivel admitted to him that they killed Bertrand at Medina’s behest, according to the police complaint. Reyes said that Esquivel told him she stabbed Bertrand while McCray beat her with a pistol. Esquivel told Reyes they were wearing gloves during the attack.

Reyes told police that Esquivel and Reyes fled Texas City and spent the night at a Houston hotel.

A spokesman for the Texas City Police Department did not have information about how McCray and Esquivel were tracked down in Atascosa County.

Police arrested Medina on an unrelated warrant Aug. 10, according to jail records. She was interviewed by police about Bertrand’s death Saturday and subsequently charged with murder, according to the complaint.

Medina was held Wednesday in the Galveston County Jail with bail set at $250,000.