Texas man accused of killing girlfriend bought chainsaw the day she went missing, police say
TEXAS: The authorities in Texas are on the lookout for a suspect whom they believe killed his girlfriend and then dismembered her using a chainsaw.
The investigators are offering a reward of $5,000 for any information or lead about 47-year-old Erik Arceneaux who has been charged with the murder of Maria Jimenez Rodriguez. Rodriguez is a paralegal and the mother of a 5-year-old girl who was missing for more than a year. The body of Rodriguez has not yet been found.
The authorities were able to obtain a video and a signed receipt which showed Arceneaux buying a chainsaw and trash bags on the day that 29-year-old Rodriguez had gone missing. As reported by Fox, when the police searched Arceneaux's home, they found drops of blood on the wall but were unable to confirm whether the blood belonged to the victim.
Last year in July, co-workers and family members grew concerned when Rodriguez did not show up for work. A little while later, a few people began to receive odd text messages from Rodriguez's cell number which did not seem to be written by her. One message referred to the missing mother having to go back to the babysitter for "Dest" - standing for her daughter, Destiny.
Rodriguez's boss Sam Milledge shared, "We knew something was wrong because she doesn’t refer to her daughter Destiny as ‘Dest’". Before Arceneaux went missing, the police had spoken to him and found out that he had not seen the victim the day she disappeared. However, both of the pair's phone records show that their phones were at his house on that day.
As per court records, Arceneaux had a violent past and had once pointed a gun at a different woman and had threatened to kill her. According to neighbors around Arceneaux’s last known address, he has not been seen in months.
Houston police ask that anyone with information about the case call the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.