EP. 262 - TEXAS: A SISTER’S LOVE: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MARIA JIMENEZ-RODRIGUEZ

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I'm Courtney Browen. And I'm Colin Browen. And you're listening to Murder in America. [MUSIC PLAYING] is. It started with the text. On Monday, June 21, 2018, Brenda Lopez, a paralegal at Millage Law Group in Houston, Texas, heard her phone go off. When she picked it up, she already had a feeling she knew who it was from. Her coworker and close friend, Maria Jimenez Rodriguez. Every day, when Brenda showed up to work, Maria was already there, getting ahead of schedule and organizing her things for the day. But that morning, Maria hadn't arrived. Instead, she sent Brenda and her boss, Samuel Millage, the same simple text at 8.57am, three minutes before the scheduled start of her shift. Good morning. I'm running late. Stuck in traffic. In the office, there was a strict policy that if you were going to be late, you were to report it to your supervisor at least 30 minutes before the start of your shift. In the six years, Maria and Brenda had been working together. Maria had never broken that rule. She was always at least 15 to 20 minutes early, already happily working and chatting away when her start time rolled around. If Maria had been running late, she would have known that and texted well before 8.57. Usually, she dropped her daughter, Destiny, off at the babysitters around 8am, and then made the 20 to 30 minute drive to the office. Which is why, immediately after getting that text, Brenda got a sinking feeling. At first, she wondered if maybe Destiny had gotten sick or something had fallen through with the babysitter. The only reason she could think of Maria missing work without warning was taking care of her daughter. Destiny was just three years old, and she was Maria's whole world. And a told unsolved mysteries, she was an excellent mom. One of her biggest dreams was to get pregnant, and when she finally got pregnant and Destiny was born, she was a fully dedicated mom. She loved Destiny. She went on to describe Maria as hard-working, reliable, and a devoted mother who always put Destiny first. And that came with challenges. Destiny suffered from a genetic disorder that affected her muscles and depleted her energy quickly. It required frequent doctors appointments and patients and care at home. But Maria never complained. She worked extremely hard to provide a good and stable life for her little family. At just 23, she had become a paralegal and was actually in the process of studying for the bar to become a full-fledged lawyer, all while raising Destiny on her own. She and her husband Jose Rodriguez had separated sometime in 2017, leaving Maria to navigate single parenthood. But she took to it well. Not only did she continue pursuing her education and work to give Destiny all the fun and love a child could possibly desire, but she helped take care of her parents and siblings as well. She frequently took her elderly father to doctor's appointments, serving as an advocate for him, as well as a translator. She was close with her sister, and went out of her way to catch up with her every single day. Gloria told News Outlets that Maria always had a smile on her face. "It's one reason why she loved the gym so much and excelled there. Even when things got tough, she had a way of smiling, laughing, and pushing through." Maria was someone you wanted in your corner. A woman who seemed to be able to do it all. Which is why, as the morning of June 21 dragged on, and Maria still didn't call her text, her boss and co-workers began to feel that something was very, very wrong. Beside Maria's empty desk, her close friend Brenda found it hard to focus on work. She obsessively checked her phone for updates from Maria, and she called her several times, but each time she was met with no answer. Then finally, at 10-12 a.m., Brenda got a response, but it didn't make her feel any better. The text read, "Hey, I had to turn back around, then Annie asked me to take Destiny, because she's not acting right." When Maria and Brenda texted, they almost exclusively spoke in Spanish, a mixture of Spanish and English. The fact that Maria wasn't texting like that set off alarm bells. Her boss, Samuel, told ClickToHuston, "There was a text message reported to be from her, but it didn't seem like her." Immediately, Brenda texted her back, asking if she was okay, and if Destiny was okay. And at 12-19 over two hours after the last text, a response came from Maria's phone. "Everything is fine. I shall be in as soon as I can." At that point, Brenda was nearly in a panic. Maria wasn't just a coworker, she was her close friend, someone she loved and cared for, and absolutely none of this seemed like her. Brenda was convinced that either Destiny was in the hospital or Maria had gotten into some kind of accident. Brenda called over and over from both her cell phone and the office phone, desperate to hear Maria's voice, but again, Maria didn't answer. Brenda told Unsolved Mysteries, "I kept calling her, I kept calling her, no response, and that was not Maria. Maria would either call you back or pick up the phone or something." After several coworkers and supervisors stopped by Brenda's desk, expressing their concern, Brenda shot her a text in Spanish, telling her that everyone was worried about her. When no response came, Brenda called again and this time the call went straight to voicemail. Maria's phone had been turned off. For the next few hours, nobody heard anything from Maria. The workday at her employer, Millage Law Group, came to an end. It wasn't until 6pm, 6 hours after the last contact that Maria texted Brenda again. The text read, "Sorry, I'm okay, and does is fine, but there's a red truck with two white boys or Hispanics that seem like they've been following me, call you from a safe place." Looking at that text, Brenda instantly felt sick to her stomach. The fact that Maria claimed to be followed by someone was obviously concerning, but there was something even more concerning for Brenda. The use of the nickname "des" not once had she ever heard Maria call her daughter that name. In fact, Maria seemed to make it a point to always call her by her full name, Destiny. It was at that moment reading that text that Brenda was certain she wasn't talking to Maria at all. She wondered if she should call the police, but she was torn. While she knew Maria and knew this wasn't normal, she also knew that she didn't have any actual evidence pointing to the alternative. That is, until a few hours later. Across town, Maria's sister Gloria arrived home from her job shortly after 6pm. And she fell into the familiar rush of getting our kids fed, showered, and in their pajamas. But there was something off as she went about her routine. Every single day after work, she and Maria would FaceTime call or text to catch up on their day. It was something they had done for years. Growing up, the two weren't just sisters, but best friends, and that friendship had only strengthened as they grew older and leaned on one another for support. So at 6.30pm, Gloria texted her sister, saying, But she got no response. Gloria continued along her routine, assuming that Maria must be busy with chores or childcare. Then at 9pm, her phone rang. When she answered, she had no idea that her entire life was about to change. She later said, quote, time stopped for me on June 21, 2018, end quote. And that started with what her brother said, as soon as she answered his call. Not only had Maria not shown up for work, but she had dropped her daughter off at the babysitter at 8am and never went back to get her. Maria didn't call. she didn't text. Essentially, she had just abandoned her daughter. But everyone who knew Maria knew, without a shadow of doubt, that she would never leave her daughter behind. She would move heaven and earth to be there for her, which meant everyone who truly knew who Maria was was thinking the absolute worst. Her sister Gloria began to panic. She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at her last text to her sister, the one she had sent at 6.30 pm. And that's when she came to a horrifying realization. The text had never been delivered to Maria's phone, which meant her phone was either off or too far away from a tower to have service. Gloria later told unsolved mysteries, quote, "I was worried that she was hurt or at the hospital." And, quote, "Maria's brother, who lived just down the street, said that he had actually saw Maria leave her house that morning. But after that, no one had seen her. The anxiety of not knowing where Maria was was killing Georgia and her brother. So Gloria did what the Hemenas family does best. She took action. Immediately after receiving that call from her and Maria's brother, Gloria called Maria's coworker Brenda to see if she had seen or heard from her. The worry that had been building all day inside Brenda, from the moment she got the text that Maria was running late, oiled over. She told Gloria everything that Maria hadn't shown up for work. And that all day long, she had been getting these bizarre messages from her. The tone felt completely off. Short. Strange. An unlike the responsible attentive friend and colleague, everyone knew. So once more, Gloria leapt into action. Gloria stopped by the babysitters home to pick up Destiny, her little niece. She wanted to make sure that it was true. Part of her hope that, just maybe, Maria had picked up Destiny while the rest of them were playing telephone. But when she pulled up to the babysitters, Destiny was waiting there. The last child, the only one left behind. Seeing it broke Gloria's heart and she knew that Maria would have never let it happen. She would never let her baby down, never leave her confused and alone waiting for her mom. So Gloria took Destiny in her car, assured her things were going to be okay, and raced down the street to Maria's home. But when she pulled up, she was met by a dark empty house. Maria's car was gone. There wasn't a single light on. Gloria helped herself in the home using a key and raced from room to room, calling out for her sister and fearing that she may find the worst. But room after room in her cozy home was empty. Maria wasn't there. Wherever she was, Gloria assumed it would be with her vehicle. Knowing her sister's vehicle was connected to OnStar GPS monitoring, she called the company, begging for the location of her sister's car. But OnStar had their hands tied. They told Gloria they could only disclose the address if Gloria filed a missing persons report and showed them proof of that report. Finally, it was time to speak to the police. Though right away, Gloria knew that was easier said than done. Gloria arrived at the Houston Police Department. Around 9.30 p.m., just 30 minutes after she received the heartbreaking call from her brother. She was wasting absolutely no time and yet Houston PD didn't seem particularly concerned. At first, they told her she had to wait 48 hours to file a missing persons report. But as we've said a million times, and as Gloria knew, that's a lie. You do not have to wait any length of time, legally to file a missing persons report. So Gloria pushed. She reiterated all the reason she knew her sister was in danger. She hadn't shown up to work. She'd been sending strange texts, and she hadn't picked up her daughter. When officers proposed a runaway situation, Gloria doubled down. She snapped, telling police that she wasn't leaving until she spoke with the superior officer. When she was threatened with being thrown in jail for refusing to leave, she still didn't back down, demanding that police do their jobs and help her find her sister. Think about the bravery that took. Gloria had a life of her own, children of her own. She was risking going to jail for obstruction or disorderly conduct, and still, she refused to move. Her love of her sister overrode her fear for her own life circumstances. And it paid off when the officer behind the desk finally relented and pulled in a supervisor, the supervisor immediately agreed that the behavior was unusual and that a missing person's report wouldn't hurt. Finally, Gloria had what she needed. At least the next piece of the complicated puzzle she was putting together. Gloria raced home to submit the report to OnStar and call them again to get the location of her sister's vehicle. The weight was agonizing, and it had only been about an hour since she learned something was wrong. When she called OnStar, nothing could have prepared her for where her sister's vehicle was. The worker on the other end gave her an address, stating that the vehicle was on the side of an industrial road. And when Gloria heard the address, her heart stopped. Her sister's car was just three blocks away. Gloria didn't bother finding her own keys. She didn't bother hopping in her car. Instead, she ran on foot through the dark streets, desperate and hopeful that her search for her sister may come to an end. When she finally reached the car out of breath, that hope started to fade. The car was parked oddly on the edge of the street near a large industrial yard. She peered inside and moving from window to window, praying that her sister was on the other side okay somehow. The driver's seat and passenger seat were empty. In the back seat, the only thing she could see was her sister's gym bag. Her purse, her keys, her cell phone, they had vanished without a trace alongside her. None of it made sense. Maria had no reason to park three blocks away from her house, and certainly not on the side of the road like this. Gloria had a sinking feeling that someone else had parked the car there. And if they had, she'd seen enough crime shows to know one thing for certain. There had to be fingerprints. Immediately, she called the Houston Police Department to let them know that she had found the vehicle and urged them to hurry to swab it for fingerprints. They said they'd be there soon, but she didn't want to risk the evidence being contaminated. So, she waited. For hours, she stood there in the dark, worried sick, but unrelenting. She wasn't going to budge until she saw the police swab the car with her own eyes. Finally, at around 5 a.m., police arrived to take fingerprints. And by six, they released Maria's truck to Gloria and sent her on her way. Gloria hadn't slept in well over 24 hours. She was exhausted, but she wasn't going to be able to stop anytime soon. Desperate for clues, she went to her sister's home again. To more thoroughly look for evidence, as the sun began to break over the Bayou City, Gloria paged through pieces of her sister's life, trapped in time, and sighed Maria's home. Everything was the same as it always was. It looked like it had been a normal morning, breakfast bowls in the sink, dirty clothes in a basket, ready to go in the wash. There was no sign anything violent had taken place, but Gloria knew there had to be a clue somewhere, and she was right. As she searched her sister's bedroom, she noticed something stuffed behind her dresser, something pressed up against the wall. She reached behind and pulled out a bouquet of flowers, attached, was a note. Now the entirety of the note hasn't been disclosed, but Gloria told unsolved mysteries that it stated her sister Maria was the most beautiful person, and that the author wanted more than a friendship with her. The final sentence of the note read QUOTE, "Your beauty is just one of the millions of things that made me so deeply love you." And then at the bottom, it was signed, "Love Eric." Gloria couldn't believe what she was looking at. She had never heard her sister mention a man named Eric. And if Eric was an important person and Maria's life, she definitely would have known about it. Maria and Gloria talked about everything. Friends, crushes, boyfriends, co-workers. So why hadn't Maria ever talked about a man named Eric before? Gloria didn't have much time to think on it. Soon after searching her sister's home, she received a call from the Houston Police Department. They wanted to let her know that they were officially launching the search for Maria. A description of Maria was sent out to various law enforcement agencies and the community of Houston. It read, "5/3, 115 pounds, medium length dark brown hair, brown eyes, and distinctive moles on her face." Her last known whereabouts were during the morning hours of June 21st, on the 6,900 block of Texarkana Street. She was last seen wearing a dressy t-shirt, pastel pants, brown ballet flats, a pink apple watch, and carrying a tan purse, either Michael Cores or coach brand. Dozens of volunteers, police officers and members of the community searched extensively for Maria in the area where her car had been abandoned and in nearby waterways. By this point, police had a timeline laid out. They believed that around 8am, a morning of June 21st, Maria drove her three-year-old daughter to the babysitter's house and returned home to retrieve her purse and gym bag. Based on her brother's claim that he saw her leave and head in the direction of work, police believed that at some point on her drive between her house and her job, something happened. And someone out there knew what. Maria's family was determined to figure out who that someone was, but it wasn't easy. As far as they knew, Maria had no enemies. When police suggested Maria soon to be ex-husband Jose, everyone in her family denied that he could have anything to do with her disappearance. Gloria told police that, "Though their relationship hadn't worked, Jose made it clear that he loved Maria, and he was devoted to maintaining a peaceful relationship with her." Not just for the sake of destiny, but because he truly cared about Maria as a person. But of course, when someone goes missing in the midst of a divorce, their acts is all over. the first person police look into. So, HPD investigators did a thorough search of Jose Rodriguez. They looked into his past. They checked his cell phone records, and they even searched his home. Ultimately, though, just as her family had suspected, they found nothing related to the disappearance of Maria, and Jose was soon ruled out as a suspect. Meanwhile, Gloria and Maria's co-worker Brenda worked together to try and come up with the suspect of their own. And they believed that those clues laid in Maria's phone. Because as they thought over the day of her disappearance, they couldn't look past the odd text she had been sending, specifically the text that read. "There's a red truck with two white boys or Hispanics that seems like they've been following me. Call you from a safe place." Gloria was certain her sister hadn't sent that text. It didn't sound like her, and it wasn't the way she would react to a threat following her. Now we mentioned that Maria loved the gem earlier, but one thing she loved in particular was learning self-defense. Maria was a strong, safety-conscious person. If she had been being followed and noticed, she would have either pulled into a police station or called for help. She wouldn't have sent a vague text to Gloria. It seemed like the person behind Maria's disappearance had sent the text to try and throw detectives off their trail, and whoever had been texting clearly knew a lot about Maria's life. Gloria wondered if the key to finding that person was looking through people who Maria had been talking to before her disappearance, so Gloria reached out to Jose. Because the two were still married, Jose had access to her phone records. So even though they didn't have her physical phone, they could still comb through every call she had made, and every number she had exchanged a text with. And what they found was their first real lead. At first, everything looked normal in her records. There were calls to the usual numbers. Destiny's babysitter, Gloria, Brenda, her parents, Millage Law firm, where she worked. However, there was one phone number that stuck out, a number that repeatedly kept calling and texting Maria late at night prior to her disappearance. A number Gloria stated had called her sister a million times. Brenda, Maria's coworker, quickly wrote down the number to save it so Gloria could call it. And when she did, things started to come into focus. The man who picked up the phone sounded unbothered, numb. Gloria asked who she was speaking to, and he answered, Eric Arcanol. Gloria's heart leapt. Eric. Eric liked the name on the bouquet. Behind her sister's dresser, Eric, the man who had written that he loved her sister for, quote, millions of reasons. Eric, the man she had never heard about. She pulled herself together and asked if he knew Maria, him and his Rodriguez. An Eric admitted that he knew Maria well. He claimed the two were not only friends, but that he was also her personal trainer. Gloria pressed on, asking Eric if he had seen or heard from Maria. But he said he hadn't. He also admitted that she was supposed to give him a ride to a job interview, at 9 a.m. on the morning she vanished, but she never showed up. To Gloria, the entire conversation felt off. And with information that he had repeatedly called and texted Maria prior to her disappearance, Gloria's suspicions only grew. And the way Eric ended the conversation really cemented those suspicions. He casually mentioned that he knew Maria's entire family, including Gloria herself. Gloria was taken aback. She had never met him, never spoken to him, and had no idea what he even looked like. But he knew her? Then things took an even more unsettling turn. When Gloria expressed that she was surprised, Eric nonchalantly told her that he knew everything about the him and his family. He knew where they all lived, what they did for work, and even where they were going on business trips. Gloria was too stunned to respond. She told Unsolved Mysteries Quote, and that was like kind of creepy. We had never heard of him. We had never seen him in our family. I felt it was like he had been stalking us, saying, oh, I already know where y'all live. It was just scary. End quote. Now after his ominous comments, he ended the conversation by stating he was worried about Maria too, and that he would let Gloria know if he heard anything. Obviously, none of that settled well for her. It had been less than 48 hours since her sister disappeared, and already she had her first suspect. But Eric's role in everything unsettled her even more on Sunday, June 24th. That day, Texas Equal Search, a non-profit organization that aids family in search and recovery efforts, was brought in to help with the search. They set up their command center near Northeast Houston, where Maria's truck had been found, and while a team of nearly 80 people combed through the neighborhood, Texas Equal Search founder Tim Miller spoke with the family. He also spoke with Eric, who had shown up after being asked to help in the search. At one point, Tim spoke to Eric alone, wondering if he could offer any insight into Maria's routine or whereabouts that her family might not be familiar with. And according to Tim, Eric became emotional during the conversation. He even started crying when he spoke about his relationship with her. He claimed that he, Maria and Destiny, often went out to dinner, into the movies. Tim Miller later disclosed to in pursuit with John Walsh, quote, "They were close, certainly closer than anybody knew," end quote. And while Eric's tears painted a picture of a man in mourning, Tim Miller couldn't help but wonder if there was something else there too. Something he noticed is that Eric refused to make eye contact throughout the conversation. He shifted in his seat, avoided the family, and he actually didn't show any interest in helping with the search. It was as if making an appearance was checking off a box for him, and as quickly as Eric had arrived, he left, leaving Tim Miller with a sour taste in his mouth. He later stated, quote, "Eric couldn't get out of there fast enough. It was pretty obvious that he was the most nervous guy in the world." Unfortunately, the search by Texas equisert yielded no result, but it had given Gloria and her family even more reason to believe that Eric had something to do with Maria's disappearance. At some point, he and Gloria's correspondence in the days after Maria vanished. He stated he was willing to do anything to help find her. So Gloria decided to call his bluff. She asked him to meet her and Brenda, Maria's co-worker, at the law office where Maria had worked to answer some questions. She wanted it to be in person alone, not over the phone, not in the middle of a search and rescue, in an office where she could try and gauge if he was telling the truth. As promised, Eric Arcano arrived at Maria's place of work, only a few days after her disappearance, to speak with Gloria and Brenda. Gloria described it, saying, quote, "When he got there, he looked very shy, but at the same time, like, aggressive." Eric appeared nervous and awkward, as he explained his version of events. He hadn't seen Maria in a few days. He had a job interview the morning she disappeared, and she had offered to give him a ride, but she hadn't shown up. Later that day, at 7pm or so, she texted him to apologize, saying she had a busy day. Then after that, he said he never heard from her again. But both Gloria and Brenda didn't feel like he was telling the truth. They wondered why Maria was dropping him off for a job interview that was scheduled the same time she was supposed to start her shift at work. They also wondered why Maria hadn't told them about Eric. They wondered what her interactions with him were like, how she seemed nervous, how she said anything suspicious, but with each question they asked, Eric seemed to grow more and more irritated. Every time, no matter what they asked, he would raise his voice, telling them that he hadn't spoken to her and had no idea where she was, and that he was just as worried as they were. To Gloria and Brenda, he seemed like a caged animal, desperate to get out of the conversation. Once again, he refused to make eye contact. He was sweating, jittery, tense. When the meeting finally came to an end, with absolutely no new information, Eric told them he'd call if he heard from Maria, and then from there, he left in a hurry. Gloria and Brenda had thought Eric had something to do with her disappearance, but after that moment, teaping their bones, they didn't think they knew. So, Gloria took the information she had gathered to HPD detectives and urged them to follow up. Within two weeks, Eric Arkano became the first official person of interest, and what police no longer suspected was just a missing person's case. They believed it was a homicide. On July 9, 2018, her case was handed over to Detective Gordon Sullivan in the homicide division, and his first order of business was simple. Speak with Eric Arkano. After some convincing, Eric agreed to come down to the station for an interview. He was calm, seemingly emotionless, as Detective Sullivan began to ask for details about his relationship with Maria, but what he had to say shocked everyone. Eric claimed that he and Maria were in a romantic relationship. According to him, the two had been dating for six months, starting in December of 2017. He stated that the two met at the gym where Maria worked out, and he worked as a personal trainer. In fact, Maria not only wanted to stay in shape, but she also wanted to learn self-defense, and had hired Eric for both. Over time, they grew close and started spending more time together outside the gym, going on not just dates, but family outings with destiny. The last photos I've ever taken was shot by Eric. In it, Maria and Destiny smile in front of the Houston skyline. When Maria's family members learned this, they were stunned. Eric described this loving, intimate relationship one that her family had absolutely no inkling of. There were also no signs. No one saw her spending more time on her cell phone or gushing over a blossoming romance. Gloria was resolute that Maria and Eric must have just been friends. After all, Maria was known for her positive attitude and friendly, helpful nature. Gloria was convinced that Eric must have had the wrong idea. She stated, "I believe it was a friendship, but in his eyes it was more, like stalking or an obsession toward her." She even spoke with people at the gym that Maria and Eric attended, and everyone claimed that their relationships seemed to be a professional, albeit friendly one. Their interactions during their training sessions seemed happy, normal. Whenever Maria brought Destiny along with her, Eric would walk them to their car, helping to carry their stuff. Everyone thought it was nice of him. A trainer helping out a young single mother like a gentleman. But police believed it was more, like Eric claimed. Because as they combed through Maria's text message history, they saw exchanges between she and Eric that seemed to prove there had been more than a friendship there. Detective Sullivan told Unsolved Mysteries, "I feel confident in saying that they were both in a mutual relationship with one another. If that relationship was, we'll never know for sure." Regardless, the story that Eric told Detective Sullivan in their first meeting about what happened on June 21st was nearly identical to the one he had told Gloria and Brenda. According to him, Maria was supposed to pick him up at 9am for an interview. She didn't show up, and then he got a text later that night from her, where she apologized and stated she had a busy day. At that point, officers didn't have anything that proved Eric's story was false, so they had no choice but to send him on his way. At that point, as Eric walked away from the detective, he may have thought police were done with him. But behind the scenes, he wasn't the only person they brought in for questioning. Within days of interviewing Eric for the first time, Eric's daughter Shanei agreed to come in and speak with detectives. Now we actually couldn't find a record of how many kids Eric has. Shanei is the only one on record. And what she had to tell detectives about her dad, painted a troubling picture, Shanei claimed that on June 22nd, one day after Maria disappeared, her father called her 12 times. When she finally answered, he seemed nervous and mentioned that something bad had happened to Maria, and he wanted to stay at her apartment. Red flags were waving everywhere, firstly, because Shanei and her dad didn't have that kind of relationship. He had never stayed at her apartment before or really expressed any interest in spending time with her. In fact, the two rarely spoke. She told detectives that throughout her childhood, her dad had been a mean controlling and domineering force in her life. For years, she watched him beat her mother until in 2008, her mom passed away, leaving Shanei with just an abusive father in her corner. As an adult, she had mostly cut off contact, needless to say she wasn't a fan of him, and she provided police with incredible insight about who he was. When she was asked if she believed her father could have done something to Maria, Shanei responded, quote, "It's possible." She also gave police a suggestion on why he may have hurt Maria. She claimed that she was under the impression that Maria was, quote, "Under stress from her family because Eric was black," end quote. However, there's no evidence to back this up, and the fact that Maria's family didn't even know Eric existed makes it seem like this may have been something Eric told his daughter as an excuse for why their relationship was crumbling. But with this odd information, and a look into Eric's domestic violence, police knew he was likely the culprit, but they needed more evidence to get him behind bars. At the time, he was just out there, living his life. Meanwhile, Maria's family members were living in a nightmare. Without her mom, three-year-old destiny went into the custody of her aunt Gloria. Now Gloria had to not only contend with the disappearance of her sister, but figure out how to handle that delicate subject with her niece. In the beginning, she told her that her mom went to the doctor and that she wouldn't be back for a bit. She didn't know what else to tell her. How do you tell a three-year-old that their mother, the person meant to protect them, and the person their whole world revolves around, is missing. Gloria explained the pain of the charade to a local news station, KPRC, hoping that it would not only encourage people to look for Maria, but maybe also encourage her killer to come forward. Lauren, the family has that truck back now, but no sign of Maria. They're hoping that there's someone out there who knows something that can help them find this missing mother. His heart breaking. It's been a month and ten days since this three-year-old little girl has seen her mother. At a loss for what to say, her aunt tells her mommy is at the doctor. She keeps asking me, can I talk to mommy if she's at the doctor, but I tell her she can't speak right now. I don't know for how long I could keep this story. Gloria Jimenez has lost sleep wondering what could have happened to her younger sister, Maria Jimenez Rodriguez. The baby is suffering, the baby needs her mom, and I'm sure if she's out there, she needs her family. She wants to come back home. As the weeks turned to months, Destiny stopped asking if she could talk to her mom, instead. She began to say to her aunt, quote, "It's taking so long. Is she not coming back?" Gloria didn't know what to tell her. She wished she could answer that question for herself, but she couldn't. She wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to. So she gave Destiny the coping mechanism she had been using. She told her, quote, "When you think of your mom, think of her and your heart. She's always there," end quote, and that's what three-year-old Destiny had to do. But all around the family, all around Houston, where reminders that Maria was gone. In Gloria's backyard, Maria's silver pickup truck remained, gathering dust. At her desk at work, hand-drawn photo from Destiny sat alongside a red sweater that Maria wore when she got cold. Gloria wanted to believe that she was still alive out there. Maria's boss Samuel told ABC7, quote, "In my heart of hearts, I want her to come back. And I don't want to believe that she's gone, until I see a body," end quote. But there were still so many unanswered questions. And as time passed, Gloria started thinking about any signs she may have missed. She thought about her interactions with Maria before she disappeared. She stumbled upon a bizarre realization. And the more she thought about it, the more it bothered her. Gloria mentioned that in the months leading up to Maria's disappearance, she noticed a slight change in her sister. At the time, she didn't think much of it, at least not in the way she did now. But for a few weeks, anytime she showed up at Maria's house, she always seemed too busy to hang out, never allowed her to come inside. And she always seemed to be looking around when she stepped outside to speak to her. At one point, Gloria even called her out and asked what she was looking for, but Maria laughed it off. In retrospect, Gloria was starting to become convinced that that change in behavior, the nerves and secrecy, it might all link back to Eric. So Gloria pulled Destiny aside one day and hoped that she may be able to provide some more information on her mom's relationship with Eric. After all, Destiny was the only person besides Eric who might know the full extent of their connection, or at least be able to shed light on things. Was he nice to her or mean to her? Did they spend a lot of time together? Did mommy ever seem scared of him? When Gloria started to ask general questions about Eric, she was shocked by Destiny's responses. She told her aunt that she knew Eric, and that he was, quote, "very nice." According to Gloria on unsolved mysteries, Destiny said to her, quote, "If you want to find mommy, ask Eric." During Destiny's say that made her stomach turn, she asked if Destiny knew where Eric was, and she responded that she knew exactly where his house was. So wanting to see if Destiny was telling the truth, or just being a toddler telling stories, Gloria loaded her up in the car to show her the house. And to her surprise, Destiny knew the general area of Eric's home. In fact, when they pulled up on Evelish Street, she immediately called out and pointed when they approached the home, telling her aunt, "It's right there. I see the trees. I see the trees. It's the blue and white one, sure enough, that was Eric's home." A single story, two-bedroom house in the Greater Fifth Ward neighborhood of Houston, a neighborhood known for its elevated crime rates and gang activity, nicknamed the Bloody Fifth and the Bloody Nickel. It's considered one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city of Houston. The fact that Destiny knew where the home was, and suggested that Eric knew how to find her mommy made Gloria rally even harder against him. She was in constant contact with police, and soon she learned that she wasn't the only one who knew Eric was behind the crime. Houston PD had been gathering evidence all along, and that evidence was all pointing towards Eric. They canvassed the area where Maria's car was found to see if they could find footage from the nearby homes or businesses of her vehicle being abandoned. The chemical manufacturing plant on Wallaceville Road seemed like the most likely spot they would have captured something. As they combed through hour after hour of footage, there was nothing. But then, something. Maria's car circling the area around 5 p.m. hours and hours after she was last seen. The driver parked the car where it was found, and walked away from the scene carrying something. On the corner of a residential street, detectives watched in shock as he made his way to a dumpster, threw something in, and quickly walked away from the scene, heading towards his home. They had their suspect on camera. And looking at the footage, it was clear who the person they had captured was, Eric Arcanal. Still, there wasn't enough to issue a search warrant of his home or vehicle. Though, police were waiting on something that would allow them to get those things. A record of both Eric and Maria's phone GPS locations on the day that Maria disappeared. If those phones were together, they'd know for certain that Eric had seen Maria that day. And maybe, just maybe, they'd be able to track down where Maria's remains were. The problem was that getting that information from major cell phone carriers takes about three months. Gloria described the wait as, "three months of just a horrible, horrible experience." All that waiting. And the thing that made it even worse was that Eric was still out there, living his life as if nothing had happened. And, now for a brief ad break. Anyways, y'all, let's get back to the show. Gloria tried to live her life as best she could, but she wasn't eating, wasn't sleeping. When she was working or shopping or caring for her kids, there were only two people she thought about. Her baby sister, and the man who killed her, a man who she knew in her heart, was Eric Arcanal. One day, when Gloria was running errands, she looked up at the grocery store and her stomach dropped. Just a few feet away from her, Eric was standing in line, going about his day without a care in the world. The rage and hurt boiled over in her. And she approached him straight face. "Do you feel good knowing what you've done?" Eric just blinked at her, like he hadn't heard her, like her words carried no meaning. He didn't say anything. He simply turned around, a blank expression on his face and left the store. Gloria recounted he looked as if nothing was wrong. But for Gloria and her family, everything was wrong. She knew her only chance at ever seeing her baby sister again, laid in the mind of the monster she had just run into. Determined to gather more evidence against him, she searched through every area of Maria's life. She looked through her personal emails. On her laptop, she searched her home again and again for evidence, looking for any journals or notes her sister may have left behind. And in her search, she found something that made the world fall out from under her. Scrolling through Maria's personal email, Gloria discovered that some of Maria's most recently sent emails were one she had sent to herself. There was no subject line. Gloria clicked email after email and with each one, a horrifying new bit of information was staring back at her. Each email that Maria had sent herself contained a screenshot of her rest records, detailing each crime Eric Arkano had committed in his adult life. In each crime seemed to be worse than the last. Way back in 1993, a then 21 year old Eric had been arrested for aggravated possession of cocaine after being pulled over trafficking a pound of it, along with several guns. Then in the early 2000s, he had been arrested for aggravated assault of a family member. And from there, his violent tendencies seemed to grow. In March of 2011, Eric was arrested and pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with the deadly weapon. Reportedly, he dragged his ex-girlfriend out of her house, forced her end to his car, and drove around the city of Houston, holding a gun to her head, and repeatedly threatening to shoot her. Even more disturbing was that his young daughter sat in the back seat, terrorized. Eventually, Eric stopped and let the mother and daughter go, but the scars his actions left were permanent. Immediately after the incident, the ex-girlfriend filed charges against Eric, and she moved out of the state forever, fearing for her life. According to her daughter, throughout the entire relationship, Eric had been violent and controlling. That day, her mom was fully convinced she was going to die. Now, fortunately, the case went to trial, and ultimately, Eric was sentenced to five years in prison. The sentence ended in 2016, just one year before he met Maria, and around Houston, no one knew what he had done. Except for Maria. Why Maria began looking into his past, we don't know, but she clearly wasn't pleased with what she found, and sent the evidence of his past to herself for safe keeping. Gloria had a theory that these emails were the catalyst for her sister's murder. She told unsolved mysteries, if Eric was behaving with a different attitude or his behavior was different, maybe she decided to look up his background, and she probably confronted him and that's why all these problems started. But if that was what happened, they'd never know. Eric wasn't willing to talk. For weeks, everyone waited in limbo until finally, on October 2, 2018, cell phone carriers got back to the Houston Police Department with the location data of both Eric and Maria's phones around the time of her disappearance, and what they discovered blew the case wide open. The data showed that, on the morning Maria went missing, her and Eric's phone pinged together at his house after she dropped Destiny off at the babysitters. The time was 8.45 am, 15 minutes before Maria's scheduled shift. Their phones were on together for the majority of the morning until abruptly, her phone turned off sometime midday. It didn't die, it was deliberately turned off. However, Eric's phone stayed on and was tracked traveling to the exact location where Maria's truck was later found by her sister. Then, Eric's phone followed the exact path he was seen walking in the security footage, to the dumpster, and then down the street to return to his home at 50/20 of Ella Street. Police had proof that he was indeed the person in the security footage they had uncovered earlier, and from there, things got worse. Later, at approximately 6 o'clock PM on the afternoon Maria disappeared, her phone turned back on. It then traveled alongside Eric's phone to a local Home Depot, before driving back to Eric's house. At that point, the last text ever sent from Maria's phone was delivered to her coworker Brenda. The text that stated two men were following her. Then, her phone turned off, and it never turned on again. For police, this information was a gold mine. It not only proved that Eric had been with Maria, the day of her disappearance, and had lied about it, but that he was indeed the person who abandoned her truck. But what police were most interested in? Was the Home Depot stock? Both of the phones made, around 630, was Maria really with Eric if she was? It'd be their first indication in nearly four months that maybe she could be alive. Officers rushed to the Home Depot on North Loop West to review the security footage for that day. They watched intently, as the clock in the corner of the screen ticked 5, 626, 627, 628. And finally, just around 630, Eric Arkano walked through the doors of the building. Police waited to see if Maria followed, but she didn't. They checked the parking lot cameras, hoping that they could see her in the passenger seat of Eric's car, but his car was empty. Maria wasn't with him, only her cell phone was. It has police continued to watch the footage of Eric inside the store. It became clear why. At the checkout counter, a worker scanned two items for Eric. The first was 42-gallon contractor trash bags. The second was a 14-inch electric chainsaw. It was a chainsaw meant for small yards, the kind to occasionally trim branches, or take care of small logs. It was obvious to detectives that lawn care wasn't why he bought the chainsaw. They believed that that night, Eric bought the chainsaw, signed his name on the receipt, and then drove back to his home. On the way, he was the one who sent the final text from Maria's phone, claiming that she was being followed. Then, he turned off her phone forever when he arrived at his house. He plugged the chainsaw into an outlet inside his home. In bit by bit, he dismembered Maria, Jimenez, Rodriguez. He then put her in trash bags, and disposed of her remains. But where had they been disposed of? Will Eric's phone data offered some insight into that as well? That night, soon after Eric returned to his home, he was captured walking toward Union Pacific's Englewood Yard, one of the busiest industrial rail yards in the country. As many as 3,000 different trains can pass through on a given day, which, unfortunately, makes it a pretty convenient place to dispose of remains. Before anyone has a chance to notice them, they're already being shipped across the country. Immediately, officers rush to the area to do a thorough search, but found nothing. Surprisingly, that wasn't the only odd place Eric visited in the days after Maria's disappearance. His cell phone location data indicated that he spent a significant amount of time near the Buffalo Bayou, a river that runs through the city of Houston. And if you know Houston, you know that's bad news. According to the KPRC, from 2020, In 2015 to 2025, 59 bodies were found in the Buffalo Bayou. It's garnered a reputation as a dumping grounds, especially in the last few months and years. The fact that Eric wasn't known to spend time there and suddenly spent ample time there after Maria's disappearance led police to believe that he had used it just for that, dumping a body. A team was quickly called into search for the banks and used sonar equipment and boats to scan the depths of the water, but ultimately, there was no evidence found, no trash bags, no human remains. The family was devastated by the footage and timeline of the crime that police had uncovered. The hope that Maria had somehow survived or was alive somewhere, unable to reach them, was snuffed out. They had to face the truth for the first time. Maria was really gone. Not only had they lost a daughter, sister, and mother, but not having her body meant there was no closure. There was no funeral, no place to visit her, no goodbye. For detectives, the news was devastating in a different way. The evidence against Eric was overwhelming, but without a body or proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Maria had been killed, it was only circumstantial. Detectives knew they needed something solid, something that would allow them to charge Eric with murder in a court of law. They hoped that inside his home, they'd find it. What evidence DNA or even the chainsaw? And on October 18, 2018, nearly four months after Maria vanished, a judge signed a search warrant for Eric Arkaneu's home at 50/20 of Wall Street. When police swarmed the home and knocked on the door to deliver the search warrant, it wasn't Eric who answered the door. One of his relatives was the only person in the house. They were ordered outside while crime scene investigators rushed inside to scour every inch of the 648 square foot home. They moved room by room, meticulously looking for signs of blood. They sprayed the carpet, the walls, the ceiling, every inch of the rooms, and lumenall. And in the primary bedroom, when they turned off the lights, the back wall and ceiling lit up like constellations in the night sky. It was clear blood spatter, covering 50% of the wall, as well as cast off on the ceiling, looking closer. The blood had a swirling pattern across it, like someone had wiped down the wall and ceilings again and again, unaware that they were missing evidence of their crime. Police immediately took a sample of the blood evidence and foretesting, though it was so degraded that ultimately, the lab was unable to get a full DNA profile that they could compare against Maria. Though police had no doubt that sadly, that bedroom had been the place she took her last breath, and the place she was dismembered. They theorized that based on the amount of blood, he might have killed her by blunt forced trauma, or even a possible stabbing. But whatever happened, it was clear that Eric had used a chainsaw to dismember and discard her remains. The motive, they believed, was that Eric was a jealous boyfriend, who refused to allow Maria to break things off with him. It was a case of if I can't have you, no one can. That day, following the search, Detective Gordon Sullivan reached out to Eric, attempting to speak with him, but Eric didn't answer. Investigators believe that his family told him what was happening at his home, and seeing the writing on the wall, he got out of dodge. As police continued to gather all the evidence linking Eric to the murder of Maria, he too had vanished. He refused to answer phone calls, stopped living at his home, and he disappeared off everyone's radar. While the while, Maria's family was forced to continue on living, without justice. The months passed, day after day, three-year-old Destiny would sit in front of a photo Gloria had displayed of her mom. Destiny would hold it. As she said, quote, "Where are you? I want you to come home. I miss you." Often, Gloria would break down in tears, both frustrated with the speed of the investigation, and devastated by what Destiny had to go through at such a young age, heartbreakingly. Destiny's fourth birthday party, when she sat in a room surrounded by her family members. She blew out her candles, stating her one wish that her mommy would come home. But week after week, her mom was nowhere to be found, and neither was Eric Arkano. Even when, at long last, an arrest warrant was finally issued. On August 20, 2019, after over a year of HPD investigating, a judge signed his arrest warrant. For the murder of Maria, Jimenez Rodriguez, detective Sullivan attempted to contact Eric on his cell phone, but once again, he never answered. Officers interviewed his co-workers at Houston Food Bank, his last known workplace, and they indicated that he had never come to pick up his last paycheck. Way back in October of 2018, conveniently, the same time his home was searched. It was clear that Eric had seen the writing on the wall, and fled. After HPD spent several weeks trying to locate him, the investigation was handed over to the Gulf Coast Task Force, a multi-agency law enforcement initiative, headed by the U.S. Marshall, and from there, a manhunt ensued. It was evident that Eric was on the run, and now, he was officially a wanted fugitive. The U.S. Marshalls turned their attention to Eric's family, and while conducting surveillance at a sister's house, one of the detectives spotted a vehicle on the property covered with a tarp. Upon further inspection, they found that the vehicle belonged to Eric, but interviewing Eric's sister would prove to be difficult. She refused to answer questions. She even got into a verbal altercation with the officers. One of Eric's uncles flat out told the U.S. Marshalls that he wasn't going to help them. Without his family's cooperation, they turned to the general public, and started posting flyers with Eric's information and photograph, surrounding the streets around Eric's sister's house. Eric was described as 5/8, 180 to 200 pounds, physically fit, and also went by the names Fardel and Black. They hoped that by covering the neighborhood around her home with flyers, his sister might feel the pressure in cave, or that someone else in the neighborhood would tell the truth. But when Marshalls returned to conduct surveillance just two days later, every single flyer had been torn down. The U.S. Marshalls were certain that his family was assisting Eric in hiding from law enforcement. For Maria's family, it was a slap in the face, but they weren't going to give up. Gloria spoke with multiple media outlets, including Nancy Grace. She attended several news conferences. She wanted to keep Maria's story in the press, and hopefully in doing so, they could finally locate Eric. There is a snippet of an interview she did, along with U.S. Marshall, Detective Tony Rugroly. How would you describe Eric Arsono? He's a violent man, dangerous man, he needs to be brought to justice. We know there's somebody that knows about it, and they really need to come forward and provide us with a tip, or a lead, or any information. Turn yourself in, before I get to worse. If you have any humanity in yourself, or if you really cared about her, you really cared about Destiny, like he said he did, turn yourself in. It is vitally important that we get this violent career habitual off the street. This isn't his first time that he's been charged with a violent offense, and something tells me it's not going to be his last time. What if he does this again? Are we going to wait for another victim? Are we going to wait for another person to get killed out there? Help me get justice already, it's two years. I just need this to stop. Marshall Rugroly later stated, "I've seen a lot of bad guys in my time, and this crime would probably be in the top five or so. Yet, for five agonizing years, Maria's loved ones were left in limbo. They had no place to leave Maria flowers, no place to just sit with her and mourn her. She was everywhere and nowhere, all at the same time. Destiny was forced to grow up without her mother, only having a picture to look at and talk to. She got ready for her first day of kindergarten without her mom. She learned to read without her mom. Every single milestone served as a reminder, not just of what she accomplished, but of who she had lost. She learned a kind strength at a young age that many people never have to experience. The strength of pushing on without your biggest supporter. She grew up with her aunt Gloria, watching over her on earth, and her mom watching her from heaven. In fact, whenever Gloria would break down in tears, it was Destiny who would encourage her not to cry, telling her, "Don't cry, she's in heaven with grandma." Everyone in the Hemenas family carried an immense grief, and they did it with more grace than I can ever imagine. Gloria admitted, "He took everything from me. He stole my sister's life, he stole my life, I'm not the same." Each year they honored Maria on her birthday and on the anniversary of her disappearance. There were candlelight vigils held in the community, searches for her, and donation drives an honor of her. Through it all, the family struggled to just survive under the weight of the pain. But Gloria was resolute, telling anyone who would listen, "I'm never going to give up, not until I find Maria." Every opportunity she had to speak about her sister and the hunt for Eric, she took. But years passed and Eric was nowhere to be found. It was as if he had disappeared off the face of the earth. Houston police say they have done everything they can to find the suspect. So now they are asking for the public's help. The victim's sister said Maria was a mother who'd do anything for her five-year-old daughter. And she said if Eric's watching this, this is what she wants him to hear. Think about all the pain he's causing. destiny. All the nights that this child has been asking for her mother and he changed her life. So that's what I'm asking. I'm asking if you see this video, please turn yourself in. Please do it for destiny." Since Eric's disappearance in October of 2018, no one had seen or heard from him for four long years he evaded capture that was until September 14, 2023. 2,933 days after Maria disappeared at a Walmart near the Gulf Freeway in Southeast Houston. A white truck backed into the grill of a black sedan. Just as the driver of the sedan, Eric Arcanel was getting into his car. There was a crunching metal allowed bang. And then it happened again and again and again. Three more cars plowed into Eric's car from all angles. He was trapped. It was only then that he must have realized it was a sting and he was done for. US marshals ordered Eric to get out of his vehicle with his hands up. Slowly, he complied and the marshals put him in cups. For over 2,900 days, he had been a free man. Doing things all of us take for granted, going shopping, visiting his family, and even working. He was hiding in plain sight the entire time, captured just 17 miles away from the home where he murdered Maria Hemenes Rodriguez. Finally, it had come to an end. For Maria's family, it was one step closer to justice. But they knew they still had a ways to go. Gloria later stated, "When they arrested Eric, my heart did something that I didn't expect. It was relief, yes, but also confusion. I want justice for my sister, but I also want to know where she is." Now KHOU covered the case extensively and they interviewed Gloria following his arrest. Just in tonight, an arrest in a gruesome murder case, 51-year-old Eric Arsono now in custody in Harris County, five years after police say he killed his girlfriend and dismembered her body with a chainsaw. Maria Hemenes Rodriguez dropped her daughter off with a babysitter in June of 2018 and was never seen again. And Arsono had been on the run ever since. He's doing court overnight on murder charges. We'll be there and have the very latest on this story, okay, until you 11 morning news. This family has been praying for an arrest for years. Now they want to learn more about exactly what happened and where Maria's remains are. In a part not far from where Maria Hemenes Rodriguez grew up, "It's been five years of torture. It's been five years of tears." For still grieving family, it has at least a bit of solace when it comes to her alleged murder. "I'm very relieved. I'm very happy that he is finally in jail." He is 51-year-old suspect, Eric Arsono, who appeared in court for the first time overnight. "For the first degree felony offense of murder." Arsono was actually charged in 2019, more than a year after Hemenes Rodriguez vanished. Police say Arsono was caught on camera at a home depot buying a chain saw and heavy duty trash bags, and that they later detected extensive blood evidence on the ceiling and walls of his bedroom, although a body has never been found. "I think it's time to get answers and it's time for him to open up and touch his heart if he has one and say where Maria is at. Give us that information so we could have to order." All we know about Arsono's arrest is that the U.S. Marshall's Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force finally caught up with him yesterday at this Walmart off the Gulf Freeway. His alleged victims' family believes he may have been in the Houston area all of this time while they mourned the loss of a young mother, daughter, and sister. "I want to think about the happy times in her life. I don't want to think about the last moment." The family was forced to face the reality that Eric's capture and arrest wouldn't bring Maria back. There would be no more birthday celebrations with her, family holidays or late-night phone calls. Maria was gone, and her body still hadn't been located. But at least Eric would have to answer for what he had done. It was a step in the right direction. But like they say, two steps forward one step back. Because while they were relieved he had been arrested after five years on the run, apparently the magistrate wasn't too worried about him. He was initially booked into Harris County Jail and held on a $250,000 bond. The way bonds work, all Eric had to come up with was $25,000 and he could be a free man. The family was furious. Eric had already proved he was a flight risk, and yet he was essentially being given a second chance to run away. Aprilag year, a victim advocate who worked with the family, expressed her outrage at the bond amount stating, "This individual could have come up with $25,000. That's what a niece on Altima is worth." And really, that does put it into perspective. For the cost of a car, Eric could potentially have had his freedom, and Maria's family could have been left in agony yet again. They were outspoken about the injustice they felt this bond served. Maria's dad, okay, this is Maria's, my dad, okay, my dad Maria's dad. And what he's saying is that there's $250,000 bond is not enough to pay for my sister's death. He did something wrong. He did something he should come forward to what he did, and give everybody closure. We need closure. We need to know where Maria's at. I want to thank all the law enforcement, all the people from courts, our U.S. marshals. Thank you. Thank you for all the work that I have done in capturing him and putting him in jail. I just want closure right now. I want to know where my sister's at. I want him to pay for what he did. He's been five years of torture. He's been five years of tears. It's been five years of where could she be at. There's been five years that a child has asked for her mother, and we haven't had answers. I think it's time to get answers, and it's time for him to open up and touch his heart if he has one. We have a big problem here in Harris County that we're not putting community safety first. Above all, we want to think about a person's finances, a defendant's finances before we consider their crime. Being low income shouldn't give you a discount ticket to continue to commit crimes in harm our community. We have seen this time and time again. It's time for our magistrates and our judges to take community safety as a priority, just because your low income doesn't give you an extra discount ticket to get out of jail. Low income defendants hurt low income people. Low income victims. So we have to change the way that we are as a society and we have to really let the criminal system work. We need to feel sorry for the victims and not defendants. The violent nature of Maria's death and his years as a fugitive led a judge to revoke Eric's original $250,000 bond shortly after his arrest. The prosecution argued for a $5 million bond and her family members demanded no bond at all. On September 19th, a judge raised it to $1 million, citing the vicious nature of the offense. Eric remained in custody and never posted bond, so there he sat awaiting trial. While he did, many members of the public had questions. How had Eric been hiding for so long with so many people actively looking for him? Marshalls have never provided any information about how exactly they tracked down Eric or where he was all that time. Interestingly, according to the podcast Grizzies Hood News, which is actually run by a close friend of Gloria Jimenez, someone had come forward with information about Eric and where he was staying during his years on the run. The host stated that she received an anonymous message from a woman claiming that between 2020 and 2023, she worked with Eric. She stated that Eric was living at a drug treatment facility in the Houston area under a different name. The facility was owned by someone in his family. This was around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and everyone was wearing a mask, which made it easy for Eric to hide his identity. However, as the months passed and the rules changed, she found it odd that Eric continued wearing his mask. The woman stated that Eric rarely talked to anyone and refused to make eye contact. And as the rules around COVID relaxed, he stayed in his room and distanced himself from everyone else at the facility. Of course, those are rumors. But one thing is for certain, Eric Arcanot was a free man for far, far too long. Eric's trial began on June 23, 2026. For the first time in five years, Gloria and the rest of Maria's family came face to face with the man accused of murdering her, dismembering her body and discarding her, like she was trash. It's hard. It's just hard to see him there. He's able to see another day of life. He's able to see his family. He's able to give them a call. My sister is not here to see her daughter. My sister's not here to see her father. My sister's not here to see me. It was an uphill battle for the prosecution because there was no body. They would have to solely rely on circumstances. evidence. They couldn't even prove how Maria died without her body, but they wanted to prove without a reasonable doubt that Eric's actions, his cell phone data, surveillance footage, and the blood evidence showed he was responsible for her murder. Harris County DA Sean Tier, who prosecuted the case, stated, quote, "This case exclusively was solved by digital evidence." At trial, some of the key evidence introduced was the cell phone data that showed both phones at Eric's house for hours. They introduced surveillance footage, and the receipt of Eric purchasing a chainsaw in heavy duty trash bags. They showed the blood spatter in his room, and the suspicious texts sent from Maria's phone after she disappeared. The prosecution painted Eric exactly for who he was, a violent and controlling man who refused to take no for an answer. He was obsessed with Maria, and he would stop it nothing to get what he wanted, despite her disinterest in a romantic relationship. On the other hand, the defense argued that Maria's body had never been found, so there was no way to prove how she died, or if she was even dead at all. They stated that the evidence was purely circumstantial, and they even offered innocent reasons on why Eric would have purchased a chainsaw and trash bags on the day Maria went missing. The blood evidence they argued proved that something violent had happened, but there was no way to determine if it belonged to Maria. It was reported that during the entire trial, Eric hardly ever looked up from the defense table, and he spent most of his time scribbling on a notepad. The trial dragged on for two weeks, but on July 2nd, 2026, after only three hours of deliberation, the jury had reached their verdict. They found Eric Arcano Guilty of the murder of Maria Jimenez Rodriguez. Finally, after eight long years, justice had been served. You know, just before we answer questions or anything else, justice was served today. It was served eight years too late, but we were fully in length. God is family and this community, the answer that the finale that they needed, that this part is behind. The morning will never end, but the not-know-weep. So we now have definitive statements that Eric Arcano murdered Maria Jimenez Rodriguez in a senseless act. I just have to say that we are likely not here, but for Maria's family, and most importantly, Gloria Jimenez, who from the very moment that night advocated on behalf of her babysitter, and started the process that ended today in holding him accountable. And from my perspective, and and Warren Bern and Eladin, who were my co-cultures on this, this is why we try tough cases. This was find no means an easy case, but the family deserved it. The community deserved it. Everyone involved in this deserved today. They deserved this final outcome. You know, this office is about getting justice, not when it's easy, but even more especially when it's a difficult case. When it's a case like this. So I'm so proud of my team. I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about David Cunningham in case I get it. The defense attorneys in this are two of the best attorneys in this entire building. And over the last two weeks you saw why. They are they are incredible at fighting for the accused rights. And I take my hat off to them. Judge Johnson was amazing from boardyer to today. She was a fabulous jurist in this case. And really our jury, the meticulous nature with which they paid attention the whole time, the work that they put in in deliberation, and to come to what I believe is the right outcome. Today's a good day in Harris County. When Gloria spoke to reporters, she had this to say, "I miss her so much. There's not a day that goes by that I don't miss that child. She was my baby sister. She rest in peace. Today is a victory. It's not bringing back Maria, but it is putting a person in jail that he knew what he did. He took a soul, a good person from this worth. I just need him to pay for what he did. And today we got justice." On August 6, 2026, Eric was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Maria Jimenez Rodriguez. Under Texas law, he'll be eligible for parole after serving 30 years behind bars. By the time he's eligible, he'll be 83 years old. For Maria's family, the sentencing was a triumph. In an interview, Gloria addressed a comment to other grieving families out there waiting for justice, saying, "Keep faith, keep on going. Believe in the God that you have that you will get closure. They will get captured and you will get justice." Though the victim impact statements that were made haven't been publicized, Gloria didn't shy away from telling the media how things went and how Eric acted as he finally faced the consequences of his actions. "I directed a comment to him and yes, he he stared at me, but it's that stare that it's like a blind stare." When Eric was asked if there was anything he wanted to say to the grieving family, his response was, quote, "know your honor" and, quote, "he had a chance after all the pain he put Maria's family through to at least own up to what he had done, to at least apologize. Instead, he took the coward's way out. Not one steady take the stand in his own defense. Not one steady offer any clues as to where Maria's body is. Her daughter, Destiny, is now 11 years old. She's lived nearly three times as long without her mother as she has with her and her life. She will never truly know her mom because of one man's selfish and violent actions. Maria's family will continue to live with the irreplaceable loss of not even being able to have a grave site for her. Gloria stated, quote, "there's nowhere to go to put flowers or go to do a prayer. It's very hard. I don't know when we'll get closure or if we ever will, but I know we're not going to stop. We'll keep pushing until we bring Maria home." As soon as Eric is settled in prison, Gloria intends to visit him and demand to know the whereabouts of her sister's body. She will stop at nothing to have her back home, where she belongs, which brings us to what we left this tragic case thinking. There are two sides to Maria's story. The first, a tragic ending marked by betrayal, obsession, and murder. But the other side is of resilience and determination. If it hadn't been for Gloria's quest for the truth, nobody knows where Maria's case would have gone. Gloria's love for her sister rose above in the face of evil, and that love speaks wonders to not just who she is, but who Maria was, and the impact she continues to have. She will live on in her sister, in her daughter, and in everyone else who loves her. And now we hope she lives on in you, too. For today's episode, we will be making a donation to the Texas Equisurge. They have put in a ton of work trying to locate Maria, and incredible work all around the country. We have talked about Texas Equisurge so many times in this podcast, and we are very proud to support the work they do. Hey, everybody. Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of Murder in America. We have some absolutely incredible episodes coming soon. Some really deep dives. And we can't wait to share these stories with you that we're going to be going through and covering in October, November, and December close out the year. If you love what we do here on the show, please consider joining us on Patreon. On Patreon, you can get access to early ad free versions of every episode of the show. So if you don't like the ads and you want to listen early, consider joining us on there. And in addition, for the higher tiers, you can get access to an entire bonus library of murder in America content. If you haven't signed up before, we literally have, I don't even know at this point, 160, 170 full length bonus episodes of the show that we've been producing for years episodes with both Courtney and I just like the one you just listened to. So if you want to help support the team that helps make this show possible, the editors, writers, researchers, please consider supporting us over on Patreon. Also, don't forget to leave us a five star review wherever you listen to the show, whether it's Apple podcasts or Spotify. We love seeing those five star reviews from you guys. And also follow us on Instagram @MurderInAmerica to see photos from every single case that we cover here on the show. Anyways, y'all, thank you so much for tuning in. I hope everybody has an amazing weekend. If you're listening on Friday, thanks so much for tuning in, and I'll catch y'all on the next one.