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Richard Mendoza murder jealousy- Sometime in November 2002, Richard "Ricky" Mendoza looked into a classroom window at his Missouri City high school and caught an upsetting sight: his girlfriend of two years kissing his baseball teammate, Christopher Allen Daigle.
A few days later, Daigle, 17, went missing.
Authorities now believe that moment in the classroom may have foreshadowed what happened to the teen, whose disappearance remained a mystery for several years.
On Aug. 12, Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Mendoza, now 26. He was charged with murder in Daigle's death and remains in jail.
Police allege he shot Daigle in the back of the head with a 12-gauge shotgun in a Fort Bend County field just a few days after the incident in the classroom, according to court records that were obtained Tuesday by the Houston Chronicle.
A day before Mendoza's arrest, authorities discovered bones - later determined to be human - while searching a rural area near FM 521 in Fort Bend County where they believed Daigle's body was hidden. DNA testing is under way to confirm that the remains are Daigle's.
Two boys were friends
Wanda Gregory, Daigle's grandmother, was shocked to learn of Mendoza's connection to her grandson's death. She said the two played baseball together at Hightower High School and had known each other most of their lives.
"It was kind of hard to imagine that a friend could do that to another friend," said Gregory, 67. "It was very hard."
She described her grandson as a loving teenager who had aspirations of playing professional baseball. She said the identification of the remains may bring some peace to her family.
"You always hope there's the possibility that he's still out there somewhere," she said. "But as much as he loved us, he wouldn't have stayed gone that long."
Missouri City Police Department investigators initially assigned to Daigle's case did not develop any leads about his whereabouts or determine that foul play was involved. The investigation was suspended about four years later, court records state.
But in January 2009, detectives received information from a woman who told police that Mendoza took her to a tree line near FM 521 and Texas 6 South, where he confessed to her that he shot and killed Daigle.
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A few days later, Daigle, 17, went missing.
Authorities now believe that moment in the classroom may have foreshadowed what happened to the teen, whose disappearance remained a mystery for several years.
On Aug. 12, Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Mendoza, now 26. He was charged with murder in Daigle's death and remains in jail.
Police allege he shot Daigle in the back of the head with a 12-gauge shotgun in a Fort Bend County field just a few days after the incident in the classroom, according to court records that were obtained Tuesday by the Houston Chronicle.
A day before Mendoza's arrest, authorities discovered bones - later determined to be human - while searching a rural area near FM 521 in Fort Bend County where they believed Daigle's body was hidden. DNA testing is under way to confirm that the remains are Daigle's.
Two boys were friends
Wanda Gregory, Daigle's grandmother, was shocked to learn of Mendoza's connection to her grandson's death. She said the two played baseball together at Hightower High School and had known each other most of their lives.
"It was kind of hard to imagine that a friend could do that to another friend," said Gregory, 67. "It was very hard."
She described her grandson as a loving teenager who had aspirations of playing professional baseball. She said the identification of the remains may bring some peace to her family.
"You always hope there's the possibility that he's still out there somewhere," she said. "But as much as he loved us, he wouldn't have stayed gone that long."
Missouri City Police Department investigators initially assigned to Daigle's case did not develop any leads about his whereabouts or determine that foul play was involved. The investigation was suspended about four years later, court records state.
But in January 2009, detectives received information from a woman who told police that Mendoza took her to a tree line near FM 521 and Texas 6 South, where he confessed to her that he shot and killed Daigle.
Read more...
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