Cold Case Spotlight
A 47-year-old man has been charged with capital murder after authorities say he confessed to shooting and killing two women in rural Edinburg on Tuesday evening.
Alvaro Medrano, 47, of Edcouch was charged with capital murder, a capitol felony, on Wednesday.
A Hidalgo County Justice of the Peace set bond at $2 million.
At about 6:48 p.m. on Tuesday, Sheriff’s deputies responded to an area near Sunflower Road in rural Edinburg in “reference to a 911 caller reporting that he had shot his wife“, according to a news release from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies located Medrano as he was walking away from the location, and detained him without incident near Farm-to-Market Road 493 and Farm-to-Market Road 2812, according to the news release.
When deputies responded to the Medrano’s residence, they found two female bodies inside of a vehicle with gunshot wounds to the head. The bodies were identified as Medrano’s wife, 30-year-old Olga Espinosa, and Medrano’s mother-in-law, 52-year-old Irene Espinosa, according to the news release.
Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office investigators and Crime Scene Specialists collected evidence from the scene, including the handgun that was used in the shootings, according to the news release.
After an investigation, the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office “learned that Medrano had streamed his confession on Facebook Live, while walking away from the crime scene,” according to the news release.
Investigators are working with the Facebook Law Enforcement Compliance Department to preserve the livestream as evidence.
During an interview, Medrano confessed to killing his wife and mother-in-law in a domestic disturbance due to infidelity, according to the news release.
The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office encourages anyone who may be a victim of domestic violence to seek help from their respective law enforcement agencies.
