Capital murder trial begins in ‘horrific’ case

Hearing starts for Kyle woman charged with killing her 5-year-old daughter

Editor's note: This story contains graphic details. Reader discretion is advised.

A Hays County woman is facing capital murder charges in what Sheriff Gary Cutler called one of the most horrific cases in the county's history.

Testimony began Tuesday in the case against Krystle Concepcion Villanueva, 27, a Kyle woman who is accused of killing and dismembering her 5-year-old daughter, Giovanna Larae Hernandez in January 2017. Villanueva's father-in-law Eustorgio Arellano-Uresti, grandfather to Giovanna, was also attacked, bringing an additional charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony.

Villanueva entered a plea to stand mute. That's when a criminal defendant refuses to enter a plea during arraignment and, after rising, does not answer the judge for a plea of guilty or not guilty. District Court Judge Bill Henry entered a plea of not guilty to both charges on behalf of the court.

During opening statements, Hays County District Attorney Wes Mau painted a grim picture of what took place on Jan. 5, 2017.

"She murdered her daughter, Giovanna Hernandez, who was only 5-years-old at the time," Mau said. "She did something crazy, but that doesn't mean she was legally insane."

Mau told the jury, consisting of eight men and six women, two of which are alternates, that Villanueva's husband had gone to work, leaving Villanueva, her father-in-law, Arellano-Uresti, and Giovanna at home in the 200 block of Willow Terrace in Kyle.

"Eustorgio will tell you he was sitting in the kitchen around 11 a.m., shortly before the noon hour, having some food, and watching some TV," Mau said. "The defendant was dealing with her daughter and had bathed her, taking her daughter off into the bedroom. He saw Krystle come into the kitchen grab a knife, he didn't think there's anything necessarily unusual or alarming about that. He shortly thereafter heard Giovanna make a noise — 'No mommy, No mom,' something along those lines."

Mau said Arellano-Uresti thought it was just a normal thing a child might say to a parent who is not doing what the child wanted, or punishing the child. He didn't think anything out of the ordinary was happening or that he needed to be alarmed.

Shortly after, Villanueva came out of the bedroom and began attacking Arellano-Uresti, stabbing him several times in the back. He fought with Villanueva, biting her hand during the struggle, making her drop the knife she was holding. He quickly grabbed the knife, put it in his pocket, and ran out the back door to a neighbor's house.

Arellano-Uresti had stab marks on his shoulder and cut to his head. He was seriously injured, but not gravely. He called 911.

During that time, Villanueva came out of the house carrying what the neighbors thought was a rifle. Turns out it was a BB gun, but she threatened to kill them. She then went back into the house and called 911, too. Police arrived shortly thereafter.

"(Villanueva) told the operator people are trying to kill her," Mau said. "There are people, surrounding the house at this point, people with guns, dressed in paramilitary garb because the SWAT teams have been called in. She also tells the 911 operator that she has cut off her child's head.

"She's asked why she did that, and she will tell the 911 operator 'because she asked for cereal.'"

Jurors were told Giovanna's dismembered body was found on the floor.

"I don't know how the defense is going to attempt to show you what was going on in her head at the time this happened, but that is going to be the key point in time that you're going to have to be concerned about," Mau told jurors.

Defense attorney Carlos Garcia argued on Villanueva's behalf suggesting she might have Capgras Syndrome, a psychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a close family member or friend has been replaced by an identical impostor.

"This caused her to not know what she was doing was wrong," Garcia said. "To understand the story, you have to understand the entire picture."

Garcia told of a Villanueva, who at the age of 9-10, told her mother of seeing a little boy in the shadows.

"Growing up over the next 5-6 years, she tells her family different stories and she was touched by God and that he showed her everything, and that someone was watching," Garcia said.

In June 2015, Villanueva was walking on Interstate 35, on the upper-deck in Austin and was picked up by police. She was transported to Brackenridge Hospital where she stayed 1 day. She said she had visions of shadow people.

"She is diagnosed with psychosis and substance abuse," Garcia said. "She enters drug rehab and recovery and tells of her depression and mood swings — that she cannot slow her mind down. The diagnosis was bipolar disorder."

According to Garcia, Villanueva's actions worsened in 2016. She believed that her family had been taken over. She said she must get a "ring" to get her real family back.

Things continued to worsen when on Jan. 3, 2017, Villanueva was rushed to the hospital after consuming Clorox bleach.

"I'm going crazy, like for real," Villanueva said on a phone call to her husband on Jan. 5, just days before she allegedly killed her daughter.

The trial resumes Wednesday and is expected to continue throughout the week.