Brenda Delgado
| Brenda Delgado | |
|---|---|
 | |
| FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive | |
| Reward | $100,000 |
| Description | |
| Born | Brenda Berenice Delgado Reynaga June 18, 1982 Mexico |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Race | Hispanic |
| Gender | Female |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) |
| Weight | 145 lb (66 kg) |
| Status | |
| Convictions | Capital murder |
| Penalty | Life in prison |
| Added | April 6, 2016 |
| Caught | April 8, 2016 |
| Number | 506 |
| Captured | |
Brenda Berenice Delgado Reynaga (born June 18, 1982) is an American former fugitive who was wanted for orchestrating the murder-for-hire of dentist Dr. Kendra Hatcher in Dallas, Texas. On April 6, 2016, she was named by the FBI as the 506th fugitive, and ninth woman overall, to be placed on its Ten Most Wanted list.[1][2] On April 8, 2016, Delgado was captured in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico.[3][4] She was later extradited from Mexico to the United States to face charges of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison.[5]
Background
[edit]Brenda Delgado and Dr. Ricardo "Ricky" Paniagua had been in a relationship for over two years. However, their relationship ended in February 2015 when Paniagua decided to break things off. Despite the breakup, they remained in contact, with Delgado believing there was still a chance for reconciliation. By June 2015, he was in a new relationship with Kendra Hatcher and had informed Delgado via email that his new relationship was going very well.[6][7] Unbeknownst to Paniagua, Delgado had been monitoring his activities since their breakup. She had access to his email and iCloud passwords, a key to his apartment, and even used an app to track his cellphone location. Delgado meticulously documented Paniagua's new relationships, taking screenshots of text messages and airline reservations.[6][8]
On September 2, 2015, the day before Hatcher was set to fly to Cancún with Paniagua for a long weekend, she was shot and killed in the parking garage of her apartment complex. Initially thought to be a robbery gone wrong, the investigation quickly revealed that it was an execution. Within a week, Dallas Police detectives uncovered evidence suggesting that Delgado had orchestrated a murder-for-hire scheme. Unable to accept Paniagua's new relationship with Hatcher, Delgado recruited two individuals, a single mother named Crystal Cortes and a small-time marijuana dealer named Kristopher Love, to carry out the killing. Both were subsequently arrested. Delgado, in fear of her own arrest, fled to Mexico. The FBI offered $100,000 for information leading to her arrest or conviction.[9]
Crystal Cortes, the accomplice who drove the getaway car for $500, pleaded guilty in October 2018 and was sentenced to 35 years in prison in exchange for her cooperation as the star witness against Delgado and the shooter, Kristopher Love. Evidence showed that Delgado had convinced Love to join the murder-for-hire scheme by promising him money and drugs totaling around $3,000 using her supposed cartel connections.[10] On October 31, 2018, he was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for his role.[11][12] He is now on death row in Texas' Allan B. Polunsky facility, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.[13]
On April 8, 2016, Delgado was arrested in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico by agents of the Mexican Attorney General's Office and Criminal Investigations Agency with support from the FBI Attaché in Mexico City.[3][14] On October 6, 2016, she was extradited to the United States to stand trial.[5][4] Due to Mexico's stance on the death penalty, as part of the agreement for extradition, prosecutors could not pursue the death penalty and instead pursued life in prison. It took the jury only 20 minutes to return a guilty verdict for Delgado.[15] She is serving her sentence at the William P. Hobby Unit, "Hobby," a women's prison in Marlin, Texas.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ Newsome, Janella (2016-04-06). "Brenda Delgado Added to FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List". FBI.gov. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ "The Ninth Woman Added to the FBI's "Most Wanted"". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ a b Newsome, Janella (2016-04-08). "FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Brenda Delgado Now in Custody". FBI.gov. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ a b "FBI's Most Wanted Woman Is Captured in Mexico After Months on the Run". Inside Edition. 2016-04-09. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ a b Newsome, Janella (2016-10-06). "FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Brenda Delgado Extradited from Mexico". FBI.gov. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ a b Hollandsworth, Skip (2019-12-18). "The Doctor, the Dentist, and the Killer". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ "Woman Flees To Mexico After She Arranges The Execution Of Her Ex's New Flame". Oxygen Official Site. 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ Malhotra, Noor (2022-12-14). "Brenda Delgado: Where is Kendra Hatcher's Killer Now?". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ Karimi, Faith (2016-04-07). "Texas woman added to FBI wanted list". CNN. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ "Qué hizo la mexicana Brenda Delgado para estar entre los 10 más buscados del FBI". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ "Kristopher Love, hitman in killing of Dallas dentist, is sentenced to death". NBC News. 2018-10-31. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ "Jilted woman gets life sentence for hiring triggerman to kill Uptown Dallas dentist". Dallas News. 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ a b Warnock, Caroline (2020-11-14). "Brenda Delgado Now: Where Is Kendra Hatcher's Convicted Killer Today?". Heavy.com. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ Osbourne, Samuel (2016-04-09). "Woman on FBI most-wanted list arrested in Mexico over murder of Dallas dentist". Independent. United Kingdom. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ "Brenda Delgado Sentenced to Life in Prison". Law & Crime. 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2024-11-01.