Crime

Courtroom chaos after guilty verdict in grisly dismemberment murder

/ CBS/AP

SAN ANTONIO -- A Texas courtroom erupted in chaos after a jury returned a guilty verdict against a man accused of fatally beating and dismembering a 35-year-old man before burning his amputated and charred limbs on a barbecue grill. A jury took about three hours to before finding Daniel Moreno Lopez guilty of murder in the 2014 killing of Jose Luis Menchaca.

After the verdict was read Tuesday, Lopez began to flail and was forced from the courtroom by Bexar County sheriff deputies. Lopez's mother collapsed sobbing to the floor of a hallway, according to MySanAntonio.com, repeatedly screaming, "No!"

According to testimony, Menchaca had stabbed Lopez in the back in a botched drug deal days before the killing. Witnesses testified Menchaca's death had been in retaliation for the assault.

Lopez's former girlfriend has pleaded guilty to murder and awaits sentencing. Jailed co-defendant Gabriel Moreno awaits trial on a murder charge.

First published on June 6, 2018 / 5:40 PM EDT

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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