It was clear that Kendra Hatcher and her partner were much in love. According to Texas Monthly, the 35-year-old paediatric dentist swiped right on 38-year-old Ricky Paniagua in May 2015 because she found his Tinder profile intriguing. Hatcher was shot and died in the parking garage of her Dallas, Texas, apartment complex four months later. Outside, it appeared to be a robbery, but what actually occurred was much more diabolical.
Who was Kendra Hatcher’s killer? The story is on Dateline.
Who killed Kendra Hatcher? There are a few twists and turns.
Paniagua had been dating Brenda Delgado for over three years before to starting a relationship with Hatcher. Three months after they started dating in August 2012, they moved in together. Things were going wonderfully, despite a brief breakup. Delgado received a promise ring from Paniagua. Until Paniagua called off their engagement in February 2015, she believed they were close to getting married. Delgado was bewildered and heartbroken, but they kept up a semblance of a friendship.
Soon after, Paniagua started to constantly run into Delgado. He frequently encountered her on the running trails, and once when he was leaving a Panera Bread with a date, he ran into her there.
Paniagua was unaware that Delgado had access to his “iCloud and email passwords as well as a key to his residence,” according to Texas Monthly. She also purchased a find-my-phone app to follow him, but prior to Paniagua starting to date Hatcher, she had not taken any concrete action to interfere with his life.
He sent Delgado an email in June 2015 to deliver the “wonderful news.” He was thrilled that he had finally moved on. Paniagua and Hatcher talked about building a wedding fund and were active on each other’s social media accounts. Delgado was keeping an eye on everything and obsessively discussing them with anyone who would listen.
Crystal Cortes, a 23-year-old who was having both personal and financial difficulties, was one of them. She accepted Delgado’s $500 offer to assassinate Hatcher. They went up to Kristopher Love, who agreed to assist them.
“Someone stepped up to her [Hatcher] in the parking garage of Gables Park 17 [her apartment] and fired a round into the back of her skull,” according to Texas Monthly, on September 2. When police got on the scene, they noticed that her Coach purse was missing and surmised that this was a botched robbery. Later, Delgado called Cortes and Love to confirm that the deed had been completed. When the three of them reunited, Delgado made off with Hatcher’s Coach handbag. Her time of freedom, though, would be brief.
Where are Brenda Delgado, Crystal Cortes, and Kristopher Love now?
When he offered his then-friend Delgado his black Jeep Cherokee, which she later lent to Cortes and used to carry out Hatcher’s murder, Jose Ortiz unwittingly became complicit in Hatcher’s slaying. Ortiz got in touch with the police to clear his reputation and give them the evidence they needed after police published shaky security footage of a black Jeep Cherokee escaping the crime site.
Delgado didn’t confess when she was questioned by the police, so they let her go. They picked up Cortes and Love shortly after that. Delgado left the country and was staying with family in Mexico, which was unknown to the police. Ultimately, she was returned to the US for her trial, which started in June 2019.
In under 20 minutes, the jury had found Delgado guilty of capital murder. She received a life sentence without the possibility of parole and is currently incarcerated at the William P. Hobby Unit, a prison for women in Marlin, Texas.
Regarding Cortes and Love, Cortes received a 35-year sentence reduction in exchange for providing evidence against Delgado. At the Christina Melton Crain Unit in Gatesville, Texas, she is currently incarcerated.
The jury also decided to execute Kristopher Love based on Cortes’ testimony. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Love’s criminal history before Hatcher’s murder included “12 arrests involving six violent felonies.” Although there is no scheduled execution date, he is currently incarcerated at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in West Livingston, Texas.
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