Spring Branch man gets 2 life sentences for murder of couple whose bodies were found day apart
Josue Casco is also accused in the killings and will be brought back to Harris County, where he will be tried for capital murder.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Spring Branch man has been given two life sentences for the 2017 murder of a couple whose bodies were discovered a day apart.
A jury convicted 42-year-old Herbert James Simon of murder and aggravated kidnapping in a trial that lasted five days.
Simon and another man, Josue Casco, who is in federal custody, were involved in the deaths of Robert Cerda and Rachel Delarosa, both 29, on Dec. 11, 2017, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said.
Cerda and Delarosa were on a date and went out to eat at Connie's restaurant, police say. When the couple finished dinner, they walked to a nearby barber shop, which was closed but where friends were known to hang out.
Cerda went inside and talked to several men he knew when Simon shot him in the back, and then opened fire several more times, killing him.
Another man brought Delarosa inside the shop and held her against her will.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Renewed search for killer after couple found shot to death a day apart
Casco allegedly forced Delarosa into his car, drove her to a rural area near Fresno and killed her with the same gun that was used to kill Cerda, investigators say.
Delarosa's body was discovered partially clothed with multiple gunshot wounds next to a retention pond by the Creekmont North subdivision in Missouri City. She was found just 90 minutes after finishing dinner with Cerda.
Investigators recovered surveillance video of a car leaving the area that they said later matched Casco's vehicle.
According to the district attorney, Casco returned to the shop with a tarp, rope and cleaning supplies.
He and Simon wrapped up Cerda's body and cleaned up the murder scene, officials say.
They then put his body in the trunk of Casco's car and dumped it in a rural area of north Houston, near the Eastex Freeway. Cerda was discovered the next day.
The case went cold until 2022, when a tipster told authorities what happened and both men were charged in the crimes.
Casco is expected to be returned to Harris County to face trial for capital murder.
