A Hidalgo County grand jury indicted a 36-year-old Elsa woman last Thursday on a charge of murder for the shooting death of her husband.
Edinburg police arrested Lucinda Amalia Diaz Sept. 16 and charged her with murder for the Sept. 5 death of her husband, 31-year-old Craig Chastain.
Diaz, however, has claimed her husband shot and killed himself after a “stupid argument” between the two. At the time, the pair had been married for less than five months, according to a probable cause affidavit and social media accounts for Diaz and Chastain, which indicate the couple married April 30, 2020.
“Lucinda advised him she and Craig had engaged in a ‘stupid argument’ and that he began to pack his belongings, stating he was going to leave her,” the affidavit stated.
Police say she also told them at the time of the shooting that she was four months pregnant and that Chastain had torn the head off of a teddy bear she had given him so she threw her wedding rings at him, told him it was over and that she was leaving him.
“Lucinda stated she then walked back into the bedroom, closed the door but not all of the way and then heard a loud pop. Lucinda provided that she believed Craig had punched the wall or broken something until she walked out and discovered him lying on the living room floor with blood around his head,” the affidavit stated.
Diaz initially told police she believed Chastain had struck his head with a broken ceramic water dispenser on his head. However, police say that as they were responding to the scene at The Village Apartments at 5228 S. Sugar Road, dispatch advised that Diaz was now saying the man had shot himself.
Authorities say Diaz waved the officer down at around 9:28 p.m., and when the officer asked her whether Chastain had shot himself, “she didn’t respond,” and when asked again, she said “that she saw him.”
Investigators also noted in the affidavit for Diaz’s arrest that she was sweating profusely and that her right hand was covered in blood.
As the investigation developed, detectives began to suspect that Diaz had actually shot Chastain after he decided to leave their marriage during Diaz’s pregnancy.
That conclusion is “based on inconsistencies provided by Lucinda as well as factual evidence and findings of the investigation,” the affidavit states, “Lucinda shot and killed Craig as a result of his decision to leave her and their relationship while she is four months pregnant with their child.”
Detectives say Chastain sustained a gunshot wound to the lower back center of his head, which a forensic pathologist found to be suspicious of homicide and inconsistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police also say Chastain was found laying on his stomach in the front of the doorway by the living room couch with his left cheek on the floor.
“He observed Craig’s body to appear lifeless and that a black in color Smith and Wesson semi-automatic hand gun was approximately three feet to the right of Craig’s body with the barrel facing away from him,” the affidavit states.
Police say the handgun appeared to have been placed on top of a wooden tray by a couch and also noted that there was a bag of packed clothing on top of the couch near the door that belonged to Chastain.
As Monday morning, an arraignment date had not been entered into the court record.
Diaz, who has maintained her innocence through several bond hearings, bailed out on a $100,000 bond on Nov. 29, 2020.
NOTE: This post has been updated to correct an error. Lucinda Diaz was arrested Sept. 16.
