Kendra Hatcher's Mother Testifies In Brenda Delgado's Capital Murder Trial
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Dallas County prosecutors laid out a case of jealousy and obsession on the first and second day of Brenda Delgado's capital murder trial.
The 36-year-old faces up to life in prison if convicted of killing Dallas dentist Kendra Hatcher in 2015.
Tuesday morning, prosecutors called Kendra Hatcher's mother, Bonnie Jameson, to the stand. She wept as she described the agony she has experienced.
"It's been three and a half years of hell every since," she said.
Another witness, Kendra Hatcher's boyfriend Ricardo Paniagua told the court Delgado contacted him in the days following the murder to offer support.
Paniagua, who is Delgado's ex-boyfriend, is at the center of what some witnesses allege was her motive for allegedly arranging Hatcher's murder -- jealousy.
He testified he was unaware Delgado was obsessed with him and kept in touch before and after Hatcher's murder.
"About every 7 to 10 days I would pass her running on the Katy Trail," said Piniagua. "At the time I thought it was just coincidence."
The defense argued that Delgado wasn't stalking her ex, providing evidence they traded friendly text messages and she was still on the cell phone plan he paid for until weeks before the murder.
But other witnesses said Delgado asked them to kill her romantic rival before finding two people who eventually did.
Delgado's cousin, Moses Martinez, testified he was asked to kill Kendra Hatcher with a baseball bat but refused that offer, which involved cash.
Hatcher was later shot and killed in the parking garage of her Uptown apartment.
Delgado's former best friend took the stand to say she also turned down an offer to kill Hatcher with a lethal injection.
Through these witnesses and in their opening statement, prosecutors are making their case that Delgado was driven by jealousy to eventually hire two people to kill the Dallas dentist.
Kristopher Love and Crystal Cortes were convicted.
- Jury Sends Dallas Dentist Killer Kristopher Love To Death Row
- Family Says Crystal Cortes Is Small Part Of Larger Conspiracy
Delgado fled to Mexico after the killing.
Prosecutors had to agree not to seek the death penalty before arresting her, thus she faces a life sentence if convicted.
