A man charged with murdering his 19-year-old stepdaughter in April entered a not guilty plea Thursday afternoon.
Guadalupe Ybarra Jr., 37, of Weslaco is accused of shooting and killing 19-year-old Ruth Esmeralda Olvera on April 17.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Mercedes police discovered Olvera’s body inside a gray 2013 Chevrolet Cruze on the evening of April 17 after conducting a welfare check. Olvera was discovered with a gunshot wound to her left torso.
When investigators made contact with Olvera’s mother, she informed them that she believed Ybarra was responsible for her daughter’s death. She described Ybarra as a very violent and aggressive person. It was also discovered that Ybarra is the woman’s ex-husband and was romantically involved with her daughter.
Investigators made contact with Ybarra who claimed that he and his father had met with Olvera earlier in the day at 11 a.m. at a park in Weslaco. He said that at 11:30 a.m., he received a call from Olvera who said that people in a black Chevy Silverado and a green older model vehicle were following her.
Ybarra told investigators that their phones got disconnected, and that he didn’t hear from her again. He also told them that text messages and phone calls between him and Olvera were no longer saved to his phone. He said that his car, a blue 2013 Hyundai Sonata, was in Brownsville at a friend’s apartment complex.
That friend was identified as 36-year-old Esmeralda Chapa of Brownsville. She informed investigators that Ybarra has been with her on the day of Olvera’s murder, but investigators found inconsistencies between Chapa’s and Ybarra’s stories.
Investigators conducted a search of Ybarra’s phone on April 18 and discovered that he had cleared his browsing history, but his recent searches were still available. They learned that Ybarra had been researching how to use a 9mm Taurus PT 92, as well as the interior of a 2013 Chevrolet Cruze — the same model of vehicle that Olvera’s body was discovered in.
Police were also able to discover text messages sent from Ybarra to Olvera, “excessively in a harassing manner,” asking for her whereabouts and if she’d been sleeping with other men.
Ybarra had also left a voice message on Olvera’s mother’s phone, saying that he’d received calls from unknown numbers from individuals threatening to kill her and her daughter. She told Ybarra to record the calls. Ybarra sent one of the recordings to Olvera’s mother. In the recording, a woman was heard making threats. Investigators recognized and identified the woman as Chapa.
A search of Chapa’s phone showed that Ybarra had contacted Chapa on the day that the voice message was shared with Olvera’s mother.
Ybarra and Chapa were both arrested on April 19 and charged with murder. Chapa was indicted on the murder charge and remains in jail on a $1 million bond. She is scheduled for arraignment in late July.
Chapa was indicted and charged with murder. He initially received a $1 million bond. He received a bond reduction and remains in jail on a $300,000 bond. His pre-trial date is scheduled for Aug. 17 at 9 a.m. in the 275th state district court.
