The Murder of Michael Andrade
For this case I watched an episode of Forensic Files. It’s season 12 episode 2, titled ‘Insulated Evidence.’
A pre-med student is killed in his off campus apartment.
Background
Michael Paul Andrade was born on August 17, 1983. He knew from a young age that he wanted to become a doctor to help people. He was attending St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, and decided to live off campus.
Michael was described as very smart and hardworking. He was also very close with his family.
The Murder
On February 17, 2005, some workers smelled smoke coming from Michael’s apartment. The first responders arrived, and when they opened the front door, smoke billowed out.
When the fire department was able to get inside, they found Michael lying on his bed. He had been strangled, his right arm was found behind him and he was slightly burned.
There were no signs of forced entry, but Michael’s computer was missing, as well as some electronic equipment from Michael’s entertainment center.
The investigators believed that the killer hadn’t set the fire with accelerant, however, three different fires had been started. They had been started on a chair in the living room, at the foot of the bed and on the floor of the bedroom closet.
The Autopsy
Suzanna Dana, M.D., performed Michael’s autopsy. It was confirmed that Michael’s cause of death was strangulation. He had been strangled with cut cloth from his own bed sheet. He had also been killed lying face down, the soot was more prominent on his backside. He had been killed before the fire started, there was no smoke in his lungs.
Dr. Dana had also found fiber glass insulation on Michael, and she believed that the killer had transferred it onto him. It was sent in for further testing.
The Girlfriend
The investigators spoke to Michael’s family and friends, and they didn’t know who had wanted to do this to him. Michael’s sister said that Michael had told her about a suspicious man that he felt uncomfortable about. He never gave her details about what he looked like or where he lived.
At the time, he was dating a woman named Lily. Michael’s sister Stephanie, said that she had witnessed several fights between them.
Lily left Michael a voicemail at 8:30am, on the morning of the murder. She told Michael that she was done with the relationship.
Lily was questioned by the police, and they eliminated her. She had been at work during the time of the murder. She was also cooperative, and let the police search her home and car.
A Crime Stoppers Tip
When the police ran out of leads, they asked the public for help. A few days later, an anonymous tip came into Crime Stoppers.
The tipster said that the killer hadn’t entered Michael’s apartment through the front door or window, but had entered through the attic crawlspace. (Creepy!) The tipster also knew that Michael’s computer had been taken, and the contents of the computer. This information had never been released to the public.
The police went back to Michael’s apartment, and sure enough they found the opening to the attic. They also discovered the insulation that was found came from the attic. The insulation had only been disturbed in Michael’s attic and in apartment 1002. A woman named Maria Solis, a single mother of a three year old lived in apartment 1002. She was brought in for questioning.
The Forensic Evidence
The police asked Maria about Michael. She said she didn’t know Michael, or where he lived. The police didn’t believe her, and they searched her home.
Inside her apartment, they collected a vacuum cleaner and a pair of men’s jeans from her hamper. On the jeans, they found tiny glass fibers from the insulation.
A forensic analyst named Michael Martinez looked at the fibers, and discovered that the fibers had expanded to a football shape because they had been near a fire. The fibers were consistent with the charred fibers found on Michael.
In Maria’s vacuum, more fibers were found. These fibers were cotton fibers that had been dyed. It was from Michael’s bed sheet that had been used to strangle him.
Also in the apartment, the police also found a video camera with images of Michael’s family, and Michael’s keys to his Ford F-150 truck.
Maria was confronted, and said that jeans were her roommate/boyfriend Joe Luna. Joe and Maria met online, and Maria claimed not to know about her boyfriend’s criminal history. Joe had spent five years in prison for carjacking and assault on a police officer.
Joe had also been wanted for other home invasions that were similar to Michael’s. Joe would break into homes, cut bed sheets and tie up the homeowners. At one home, Joe had left behind his cigarettes butts in the garage. The cigarettes were tested and matched Joe’s DNA.
Arrest and Conviction
Five days after Joe murdered Michael, he was arrested and charged. He was facing a possible death sentence.
When Joe was interrogated, he denied it. The police believed that Joe was bored because he had been in Maria’s apartment all day, and discovered the crawl space. He then went into Michael’s apartment, and woke him when he went into his bedroom. It’s believed that Joe killed Michael, so he couldn’t identify him. He then set a fire, left, and came back to steal the electronics and set two more fires to cover up his crimes. Joe also tried to cover up the evidence when he returned to Maria’s.
Maria admitted to the police that Joe had told her that he had to kill Michael because he saw him.
At his trial in March 2006, Joe insisted he was innocent, until he saw the forensic evidence against him. He changed his plea to guilty, and said he enjoyed it. He then asked the jury to sentence him to death. They did on April 26, 2006.
Joe Luna
Other
Joe’s defense team has pushed for a new trial. They said Joe’s childhood, full of abuse, was never brought up in 2006, and that it might have changed people’s minds. There aren’t a lot of articles out there about this case, but I’m guessing it was denied.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This dude is an absolute monster. I don’t know how I feel about the death penalty to be honest, but he terrorized so many people. He doesn’t deserve to ever get out of prison, and I wouldn’t feel bad if he died. That sounds harsh, but he took an innocent person’s life, and destroyed so many others. The police and forensic investigators did an amazing job piecing this case together so quick. Joe also made it easy because he didn’t seem like the sharpest tool in the shed.
Sources
https://murderpedia.org/male.L/l/luna-joe.htm
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/132418240/michael-paul-andrade
https://www.sfgate.com/news/local/article/Death-row-inmate-presses-for-new-trial-4045219.php
