A Houston woman was sentenced to 40 years behind bars after murdering her friend so she could kidnap her six-week-old baby.
Erika Miranda-Alvarez, 35, pleaded guilty this week to fatally stabbing Carolina Flores, 33, in a gruesome plot to steal the mother of five’s baby in 2017.
The killer had been friends with Flores and her family for several years, and both women were pregnant at the same time before Miranda-Alvarez suffered a miscarriage, prompting her to come up with her plan.
Prosecutors said this week that Miranda-Alvarez’s defense planned to use an insanity defense, so they offered him a plea deal to ensure the killer spends decades behind bars.
Erika Miranda-Alvarez, 35, pleaded guilty this week to fatally stabbing a mother of five in Houston and stealing her six-week-old baby.
Carolina Flores, 33, photographed with her baby Shamali, was murdered by Miranda-Álvarez, who had befriended her and had known her family for years.
Miranda-Alvarez had reportedly become close to Flores during their pregnancies, but kept her miscarriage a secret and lied to Flores about giving birth shortly before the murder, reports. Khou.
After stabbing Flores to death, family members found her body in her apartment on December 19, 2017, but quickly realized that her baby was missing.
Authorities launched a massive two-day search and issued an AMBER Alert to find the boy, who was eventually found unharmed in Miranda-Alvarez’s apartment.
A SWAT team was used to storm the home, where Miranda-Alvarez was also found inside the home and taken into custody.
Two hospital bracelets were discovered in the murderer’s pocket, one for Carolina Flores and another for Shamali Flores, Carolina’s baby.
After the murders, it was revealed that Flores’ brother, Juan Martínez-Miranda, introduced the women and told KHOU at the time that his sister’s death was “painful.”
“I can’t tell if I’m upset, sad or angry,” he added.
Flores was found stabbed to death in her Houston apartment and prosecutors said Miranda-Alvarez hid her phone in the toilet tank.
Police seen outside the Houston apartment where Flores’ relatives discovered his body.
Authorities began an exhaustive two-day search for the baby that led them to the apartment
Prosecutors said Miranda-Alvarez systematically planned the crime and claimed to police after his arrest that he took the baby after finding Flores dead in her apartment, but did not kill her.
“She knew what she was doing was wrong, and we know that from what she told people and what she did, including throwing the victim’s cell phone down the toilet tank,” said Harris County Deputy District Attorney Casey Smith.
As part of his plea deal, Miranda-Alvarez will not be eligible to appeal his conviction and must serve at least 20 years before being eligible for parole.
Harris County Prosecutor Kim Ogg described the incident as a “premeditated murder and kidnapping that should never have happened.”
“I wish there was a way to undo all the harm and pain this defendant inflicted on others, but all we can do is work to ensure she spends decades in prison for her actions,” he said.
Smith said members of the victim’s family were present to see the sentencing and said they “have waited a long time for justice to be served, and now we hope this will finally give them closure.”
