Youth pastor convicted of slaying pregnant girlfriend
A Bexar County, Texas, jury this morning convicted a former youth minister of capital murder in the deaths of his 17-year-old pregnant girlfriend and their unborn child. Jurors in the 226th District Court took about an hour and 15 minutes to find Adrian Estrada, 24, guilty of capital murder in the Dec. 12, 2005, choking and stabbing death of Stephanie Sanchez. Estrada, a former youth pastor at El Sendero Assembly of God church, showed no emotion when the verdict was read. He faces either the death penalty or life in prison without parole. The punishment phase of his trial is set to begin Tuesday. Sanchez's body was found on the kitchen floor of her family's West Side home. She was about three months pregnant at the time of her death, and DNA evidence showed Estrada was the father. Estrada was arrested the following day after he admitted to stabbing the teen. Prosecutors and defense attorneys this morning presented their closing arguments. In her closing statements, prosecutor...