Man found guilty of murdering 29-year-old mother 8 years after she was reported missing
Erik Areceneaux remained on the run for years after Maria Jimenez Rodriguez was reported missing in June of 2018.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The man accused of dismembering his then-girlfriend with a chainsaw and disposing of her body has been found guilty of murder on Thursday, nearly eight years since her disappearance.
The video above is from a previous report.
Erik Arceneaux was on trial for the murder of Maria Jimenez Rodriguez, who went missing on June 21, 2018.
According to court records, Rodriguez was last seen after dropping off her daughter at daycare before heading to work, but she never arrived.
Investigators said the 29-year-old mother's co-workers received text messages alerting them that she would be late coming in and that she was allegedly being followed, which the co-workers described as suspicious. Police said that her silver truck was found in east Houston, not too far from her home.
As the investigation continued, it was found that Rodriguez's cellphone and Arceneaux's cellphone were in the same location. Investigators tracked the phones, and the suspect's phone data showed that Arceneaux was at a Home Depot in northwest Houston.
Surveillance footage showed a man who matched the description of Arceneaux purchasing trash bags and a chainsaw. A receipt for the items was found with the suspect's signature.
Texas EquuSearch conducted searches all through the summer of 2018, but Maria's remains were never found. Arceneaux was charged in her disappearance in August of 2018.
Areceneaux remained on the run for five years until September 2023, when the 51-year-old was arrested by the Gulf Coast Violent Offender Task Force in a Walmart parking lot in southeast Houston. He was soon booked into the Harris County Jail and was charged with her murder.
The trial began in June 2026, and he was denied bond after a judge initially overruled his $250,000 bond amount.
On Thursday, a jury found Arceneaux guilty of murder, and the judge said that his punishment would be set at a later date.
ABC13 has extensively covered the trial on its website since 2018.
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