SAN ANTONIO – Maraliz Medina admitted to shooting her husband, Rudolfo Espinoza, 31, to death last July during a heated argument.
Medina, 28, told police she became angry when she saw Espinoza behaving in a sexually inappropriate manner with the couple’s 10-year-old son.
She said they argued and the argument turned physical after Espinoza began choking her.
“He was choking her and that is when she reaches under the mattress and grabs one of the guns,” prosecutor Kristina Escalona told Judge Melisa Skinner during Medina’s sentencing hearing on Tuesday.
Medina fired nine shots, killing Espinoza. She pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges earlier this month.
Before she sentenced Medina, Skinner gave her an opportunity to reconsider the plea.
“If she wants a trial, she’s going to get one here,” Skinner said. “Talk to your attorney for a little while and then you can talk to me if he thinks that’s advisable.”
After conferring with her attorney, Medina said she wanted to go ahead with sentencing.
“The state does feel that Ms. Medina would benefit from deferred adjudication,” Escalona told the judge.
Skinner went along with the plea deal and sentenced Medina to 10 years deferred adjudication, which is a form of probation.
She also ordered that Medina serve six months in jail, to be followed by regular drug testing, counseling and mental health evaluations.