HOUSTON — A Houston woman who killed her friend and kidnapped the mother of five's baby pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 40 years in prison this week.
Erika Miranda-Alvarez, 35, was originally charged with capital murder for fatally stabbing Carolina Flores-Miranda, 33, so she could steal her daughter, 6-week-old Shamali, in 2017.
On Tuesday, Miranda-Alvarez pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of murder.
“This was a premeditated murder and kidnapping that should have never happened,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. “I wish there was a way to undo all the harm and pain that this defendant inflicted on others, but all we can do is work to ensure that she spends decades in prison for her actions.”
The DA's office said the deal was made because the defense planned to use an insanity defense so a guilty plea guaranteed that Miranda-Alvarez would be convicted and sent to prison.
Members of Flores's family were in the courtroom to see her take responsibility and be sentenced.
“This family has waited a long time for justice to be done, and now hopefully this will finally give them some closure,” Assistant District Attorney Casey Smith said.
'She knew what she did was wrong'
Family members found Flores's body in her Aldine-area apartment on Dec. 19, 2017, and realized the baby was missing.
An AMBER Alert was issued and multiple law enforcement agencies joined an exhaustive two-day search. Officers found the baby unharmed with Miranda-Alvarez at her apartment on South Gessner. They also found two hospital wristbands in the defendant's pocket. One said Carolina Flores and the other said Shamali Flores.
The women had been pregnant at the same time but Miranda-Alvarez had a miscarriage and didn't tell anyone.
Prosecutors said she planned out the crime, including lying to Flores days before killing her by saying she too had given birth. It was all part of Miranda-Alvarez's plot to steal the victim's baby and pass her off as her own.
“She knew what she was doing was wrong, and we know that from what she said to people and what she did, including dumping the victim’s cellphone in the toilet tank,” Smith said.
When Miranda-Alvarez was arrested, she claimed she found Flores dead but she didn't kill her.
Miranda-Alvarez must serve at least half of the prison sentence before she will be eligible for parole. She cannot appeal the conviction or the sentence.
'It's painful'
Martinez-Alvarez had been a friend of the victim’s family for several years. It was Flores' brother who introduced the two women.
“I cannot say if I’m upset, if I’m sad, or if I’m angry,” Juan Martinez-Miranda told us after his sister was murdered in 2017. “But what I know, it’s painful.”
Pastor Desman Nunez of Evangelical Garifuna grew up with Flores in Honduras and she attended his church.
“When she made a video, post(ed) something on Facebook, or when she talks, she was focused on her kids,” Nunez said at a 2017 vigil for the victim.
Many of his church members are from Tela, Honduras, a small town where everyone knows everybody. The packed house at the vigil honored Flores by stuffing boxes with donations to help ease the burden her children face.
“It’s hard for us,” Martinez-Miranda told us back then. “Just imagine it’s going to be more hard for the kids, and they will know in the future that they don’t have (a) mom. But the most important thing, I know a lot of people here, they’re going to give us support.”
