Martin Garcia, San Antonio, Texas man sentenced to 45 years jail for stabbing his ex wife, 95 times, killing her after she told him she’d met someone new. Woman had been subjected to ongoing domestic violence.
‘I loved her very much….’ A San Antonio, Texas man is to spend the rest of his life behind bars after confessing to having stabbed his ex-wife up to 95 times, killing her after she had met someone new. The victim had planned moving out of the home they still shared despite their divorce years ago.
Martin Garcia was ordered to serve 45 years in a state correctional facility for the 2023 slaying of 66-year-old Teresa Moreno Garcia, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
Garcia reached a deal with the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office in which he agreed to plead no contest to one count of murder in exchange for a maximum sentence of 45 years. Rangel also credited Garcia with 454 days of time already served.
‘If I can’t have her, nobody can,’
During a sentencing hearing on Monday, Teresa Garcia’s sons both gave victim impact statements in which they described the victim as a loving mother who was the victim of domestic abuse at the hands of Garcia, KSAT reported.
‘She did not know how to escape,’ one of Teresa Garcias sons said, talking about her relationship with Martin Garcia.
‘He would say things like, ‘If I can’t have her, nobody can,” the victim’s other son said. The son claimed his father being abusive towards his wife for decades.
Prosecutors said that while the couple had divorced several years earlier, they reportedly remained living together due to money struggles. It wasn’t until Teresa Garcia told her ex that she had met someone new and was going to be moving out that he ‘violently attacked her,’ according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Martin Garcia also took the stand Monday, telling the court, ‘I loved her very much.’
‘She was the only one I loved,’ the man added. ‘I did what I did, I am very sorry, but I loved her.’
‘I did what I did, I am very sorry, but I loved her.’
On the night of the murder, Dec. 5, 2023, circa 11pm, officers with the San Antonio Police Department responded to an emergency call at a residence located in the 200 block of Channing Avenue regarding an adult female being stabbed. The caller identified himself as Martin Garcia before explaining to the dispatcher that he had just finished killing his wife by stabbing her to death.
Upon arriving at the address, first responders said they found the victim — later identified as Teresa Garcia — suffering from what appeared to be multiple stab wounds. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said that when they found Martin Garcia at the scene he appeared to have intentionally cut one of his wrists. He was transported to a local hospital for a medical evaluation before being taken into custody without incident.
According to an arrest affidavit, Garcia told the 911 emergency dispatcher that he had used a knife to murder Teresa Garcia — whom he referred to as his wife — after the two had gotten into a heated argument before slitting his own wrist.
Garcia reportedly explained that they were arguing because he believed that his wife was cheating on him. He said that at some point during the argument, Teresa Garcia attempted to leave the house, which is when he attacked and repeatedly stabbed her.
When officers arrived at the couple’s home, Martin Garcia was waiting for them outside the residence. Teresa Garcia’s body was discovered lying on the floor inside the home.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy on the victim and determined the manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was multiple sharp force injuries.
