A 28-year-old Mission resident pleaded guilty last week to murder for hitting and killing his wife with a vehicle following a late-night argument in April last year.
Erick Araujo Solache entered his plea on Aug. 4 and is scheduled to be sentenced next week for the April 25, 2021, death of Karen Alexia Lopez.
Court records indicate that he will receive eight years in prison.
The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release at the time that deputies responded to the Mission Regional Medical Center at approximately 11:29 p.m. that day in reference to a suspicious circumstance.
“Mr. Solache explained he rushed his wife to the hospital after finding her injured on the canal bank near their home. Deputies proceeded north of 2 Mile Line on East Goodwin Road and located the crime scene,” the news release stated.
Investigators found evidence there that corroborated medical findings that Lopez sustained multiple injuries from a motor vehicle.
“Solache was later transported to the Sheriff’s Office, where he provided a voluntary statement of accused admitting to running over his wife with his vehicle after an argument,” the news release stated.
Solache has remained in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on the murder charge since April 26, 2021, on a $2 million bond.
A grand jury indicted the man on Aug. 10, 2021.
In June, Solache wrote state District Judge Noe Gonzalez and asked for mercy.
In that letter, Solache — who never mentioned his wife’s name — said her death was an accident.
He mostly talked about his children and his immigration status, telling Gonzalez that while he is in the country illegally his children are U.S. citizens.
Solache said he came to the country so his children could have a better life and asked Gonzalez to sentence him to the least amount of time because after finishing his sentence he will have to deal with immigration authorities.
“That is why I’m asking you for mercy,” Solache wrote.
