Houston man sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing a mother of 5 in 2009 cold-case murder

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston man was given a life sentence for a 2009 murder for fatally stabbing a mother of five, according to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.

Jorge Trevino Cardenas, 52, was already behind bars after being convicted of sexually assault a child in 2014.

In January 2023, Cardenas was charged with murder in the stabbing death of Domitila Alvarez. Following a four-day trial, a jury found him guilty on Oct. 10 and the judge sentenced him to life in prison.

"This was a horrific crime when it happened, and no one in law enforcement ever stopped looking for the killer," Ogg said. "Even after the case went cold, investigators kept working on it. When charges were filed, prosecutors were able to get justice for the victim and her family."

On the evening of April 24, 2009, Alvarez, who was a 38-year-old mother of five, went by herself to her family's car dealership in the Alief area to handle some business.

Family members discovered her corpse in the shop's office hours later. Alvarez had been the victim of several vicious stabbings while in a fight with someone wielding a long knife. Investigators found bloodstains on the door leading out of the office, on the security bars outside the entrance, and on a parked truck outside, in addition to the blood found on her clothing.

As part of a case review effort in 2021, the Houston Police Department's Homicide Division Cold Case Squad reexamined the material and used Cardenas' DNA to identify him. Tests revealed that his DNA matched that on the truck, the security bars, the door, and his clothing.

Police determined that Cardenas had probably wounded himself with the knife during the fight since his blood and DNA had mixed with the victim's blood.

Assistant District Attorney Christopher Condon, who is a chief in the Homicide Division of the DA's Office, noted that a witness who knew Cardenas in 2009 testified that he lived near the shop, worked as a security guard near the shop, and carried a long, fixed-blade knife with a serrated edge. The knife that killed Alvarez was the same blade, according to medical experts.

Before becoming eligible for parole, Cardenas must serve at least 30 years in prison.