Ricardo Quinones: Texas man breaks into wife's home wearing ski mask and guns her down as daughter flees
Trigger warning: The following article contais recollection of a crime that some readers may find traumatic. Discretion is advised.
GEORGETOWN, TEXAS: Ricardo Quinones, 38, is accused of murder for the shooting death of his estranged wife at her Georgetown home in Texas one day after Christmas. Police said they discovered 31-year-old Lindsey Quinones' body in the house on Tuesday, January 3. His arrest affidavit stated that she had been shot in the face while being chained to a bed. According to the authorities, Quinones allegedly broke into his wife's home and killed her while their teenage daughter escaped through a bedroom window.
Officers claimed that they were attempting to reason with Quinones while waiting outside the house before they heard two gunshots and went inside. Quinones escaped but was arrested in Columbus a few hours later.
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According to a 911 complaint, Quinones' 13-year-old daughter informed police that he was wearing all black clothing and a ski mask and shining a flash light in her face when she woke up Tuesday while she was sleeping with her mother. Despite donning the mask, Quinones' daughter was able to identify him by his voice, according to the affidavit. He then allegedly dragged his estranged wife out of bed. The woman allegedly instructed his daughter to "listen to your dad" while mouthing that she should phone the police.
The young girl claimed she then saw her dad bind up her mom with ropes and also noticed that he had a knife in his pocket, according to the affidavit. The young woman later made her way out of the house through a bedroom window, where she was met by policemen who had barged in after hearing two gunshots at around 3 in the morning, according to CBS Austin. The affidavit said Quinones threatened to stab his wife and hit her with a gun. At one point, Quinones tried to cut the rope off Whitman's legs but cut her legs accidentally, causing her to bleed a lot.
After a state trooper alerted the Fayette County Sheriff's Office to the potential murder suspect's vehicle driving westbound on I-10, Quinones was apprehended "without incident" at around 11 a.m. in a parking lot in Columbus, the sheriff's office reported on Facebook. He allegedly told authorities "that it didn't matter anymore, he was going to prison anyway because he lost his mind that morning and the gun was in his truck," according to KXAN. A gun was recovered from the vehicle.
Quinones was being held in the Williamson County Jail on Thursday with bail set at $1 million. The punishment for murder ranges from five to 99 years in prison.