SAN ANTONIO - A San Antonio man is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday evening for the murder of a 37-year-old single mother that dates back to 2001. Since then, prosecutors have also tied Ramón Hernandez, 39, to the murders of two young girls and say he could be responsible for even more killings.
But Rico Valdez, who serves as the appellate division chief for the Bexar County District Attorneys Office, fears Hernandez may take the answers to those unsolved murders to the grave since prosecutors are nearly out of time. It is the eleventh hour for Bexar County prosecutors seeking a confession on at least two more murders from Hernandez and they are doing everything they can in the next 24-hours to get him to talk.
“We’re still hopeful in the hours that we have left that we'll have that opportunity, but there are no guarantees,” explained Valdez.
Valdez has been working to get a confession from Hernandez on two unsolved murders ever since the DA’s office first learned about the cases.
According to Valdez, “Jennifer Taylor and Laura Gamez, they disappeared or they were last seen in November 9, 1994 and their bodies were discovered April 15, 1995 the next year."
The young girls' bodies were discovered on a ranch belonging to Hernandez' uncle in Bandera County one year after they were killed.
“Unfortunately, because the bodies had been exposed to the elements we weren't able to obtain any DNA linking Hernandez directly to the crime.”
But he added Hernandez’ style of killings from the murder and rape of Rosado from 2001 and two young cousins: Sarah Gonzales and Priscilla Almarez in 1994 matches the murders of Taylor and Gamez.
The DA’s office was able to obtain indictments for Hernandez in the killings of those two cousins dating back to 1994. The deaths of Taylor and Gamez are still considered unsolved.
The DA’s office has once again reached out to Hernandez through his attorney in recent days to get answers in those unsolved cases. He has declined speaking to them again. However, prosecutors remain optimistic that he will change his mind.
