ATASCOSA COUNTY, Texas – A Poteet man accused of killing two women in Atascosa County and then setting fire to the crime scene has accepted a plea deal in the case.
On Monday, Rosendo Jesus Montoya, 28, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to capital murder of multiple persons.
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“It’s almost unheard of to be able to resolve a capital murder case within a year, but we wanted to get justice for the families,” said Atascosa County District Attorney Audrey Gossett Louis. “The outcome means that (Montoya) will take his last breath in prison and spares the family the pain of going through a trial and appeals. And you never know with the jury.”
Montoya confessed to killing Mary Heinz, 33, and her roommate, Laura West, 43. Sheriff David Soward said Montoya and West had dated briefly, but then he became “obsessed” with her.
West’s body was found inside her home in the 100 block of Peach Tree in Leming. She had been shot in the head and her house set on fire.
Several days later, investigators conducted surveillance on Montoya and witnessed him throwing two plastic bags into dumpsters at a fast food restaurant where he worked in Pleasanton.
An investigator retrieved the trash bags and found they had partial human remains. Montoya was taken into custody where he confessed and took investigators to where Heinz’s body was located, near a county road about five miles north of Poteet.