Donna man sentenced to 40 years for fatal stabbing of 65-year-old woman

A 38-year-old Donna man has been sentenced to prison after repeatedly stabbing and killing a 65-year-old woman in early 2021.

Moises Peña Herrera has been convicted of murder and tampering with physical evidence following the death of Rosalinda A. Garcia.

Herrera was sentenced on Wednesday to 40 years in prison for the murder charge and 10 years for the tampering charge, according to court records.

The sentences will be served concurrently.

At 3:40 p.m. on Feb. 25, 2021, San Juan police responded to a residence in the 1200 block of East Texas Avenue where they found Garcia’s body and determined she had been murdered.

According to the probable cause affidavit, police managed to obtain a description of Herrera and were able to identify his Chevrolet pick-up truck during the investigation.

They also managed to find Herrera’s phone number in Garcia’s cellular data.

Investigators later found Herrera’s Chevrolet truck parked at a private business along Business 83 in Alamo and detained him.

Police said he confessed to stabbing Garcia multiple times.

The tampering charge stems from Herrera disposing of the knife he used to kill Garcia into a trash can upon leaving the residence.

The affidavit doesn’t disclose a motive or the relationship between Herrera and Garcia.