The Murder of Velia Guevara
For this case, I watched an episode of Snapped. It’s season 28 episode 21.
A kindergarten teacher is found dead in her San Antonio apartment.
Background
Velia Acosta was born on November 22, 1960, in San Antonio. She grew up in a Catholic family, and was one of three girls.
After high school, Velia attended college, and earned a degree in education.
Velia was described as bright, beautiful, lively and bubbly. She was very loved by her students, and one day hoped to have kids of her own.
Velia Guevara
The Discovery
On May 26, 1993, Velia’s husband Jim, arrived home around 4pm. He called out to her, but there was no answer. He eventually found her lying on her back in the hallway. She was stiff, and it was clear she had been dead for a few hours.
Jim called 911, and the San Antonio police arrived shortly after. At first, the police thought that Velia had an accident, or heart attack. However, that was not the case. She had been shot three times in the abdomen.
There was no sign of forced entry or of a struggle. Jim mentioned to the police that there were some break ins around the apartment complex in the past, but no valuables from the home were missing.
The Investigation
The police questioned Jim. He told them that he had been out all day playing golf. He then came home, saw the door was ajar, and found Velia on the floor.
In the apartment, the police found several .9mm shell casings in the closet, and one on the couch. Once they obtained a search warrant for Jim’s car, they also found .9mm shell casings inside, and a receipt from a pawn shop for a purchase of a handgun.
Jim was brought down to the police station for further questioning. He told the police that he was in the process of purchasing a gun, but hadn't yet. The pawn shop confirmed that that the gun from the receipt was still in their possession.
Jim also told the police that he kept the shell casings found in his closet and car, from a trip to the shooting range for his brother.
Jim was released, but the police told him that they would be in contact.
The Mysterious Woman
Back at the crime scene, the police canvassed the area for potential eyewitnesses.
The assistant apartment manager named Shelley Stelzer, told the police that the office had received several anonymous calls that day. The calls were from a woman, who told them that Velia’s headlights were on.
Shelley contacted Velia, who later walked by the leasing office to thank Shelley. Velia’s lights hadn’t been on, and that was the last time Shelley saw her. It was around 10am, and Shelley said Velia seemed upbeat.
Shortly after, a woman had come into the leasing office to ask to use the phone. A maintenance worker had also seen the woman, and said that the woman had been watching in the direction of Velia’s apartment.
The police also spoke with the principal of the school where Velia worked. The principal also said that the school was receiving messages from a woman, who always asked for Velia. When Velia answered, the woman would hang up.
The Affair
Jim was once again brought in. During another round of questioning, the police received a phone call from a co-worker of Jim’s named Tina Timmerman.
Tina told them that Jim had been having an affair with a woman named Minnie Salinas. Jim and Minnie had worked together at a San Antonio newspaper, and became involved.
Jim was confronted by the police about the affair. Jim admitted to it, but said he didn’t think Minnie was involved. Instead, he told the police that he had fired a woman years earlier named Eva Perez. Eva apparently didn't take losing her job too well, and could’ve come back for revenge.
Eva was actually interviewed in this episode. She said she had been in California during the time of the murder. She was eventually ruled out. Eva said she never had any ill will towards Jim, but that when he was her boss, he was really hard to work with.
The police turned back to Minnie Salinas, and wanted to find her.
Minnie’s Story
At the time that Minnie met Jim, she was a married mother of two. After she started working at the newspaper company, her marriage went downhill. She then started dressing proactively, and flirting with her co-workers, especially Jim.
The newspaper company eventually closed down. Minnie went on to work at an insurance company, and continued her affair with Jim.
The police went to speak to Minnie’s employer. They obtained her keycard from work, and discovered that she had punched in at 6:41am, but didn’t come back to work until 10:40am. The medical examiner had put Velia’s time of death between 9-11am.
The police obtained a copy of Minnie’s work ID picture, as well as photos from Minnie’s female co-workers. On May 28, the police showed the photo lineup to Shelley. Shelley immediately picked out Minnie’s picture from the lineup.
On June 1, Minnie was finally located at work. She admitted to the affair, and said that she had given Jim an ultimatum.
Minnie told the police that she had been at a doctors appointment on the day of the murder, and even handed them a doctors note.
Minnie was asked about being at the apartment complex that day, and that an eyewitness had picked her photo out of a lineup. Minnie then became angry, cussed the police out, and walked out of the room.
All Circumstantial Evidence
After Minnie’s interview, the police received a phone call from one of Minnie’s friends named Perla. Perla told them that Minnie had called her on the night of the murder, and appeared nervous.
Minnie went to Perla’s house. Perla said she had the news on, and that Minnie had told her that the crime occurred around 10am. The time of death wasn’t public knowledge, so the police knew that Minnie was involved, and probably the one who actually pulled the trigger.
Although the evidence was circumstantial, it kept piling up against Minnie and Jim. The shell casings found in Jim’s car were a match to the ones from the murder weapon. The date and time on Minnie’s doctors note was also revealed to have been faked.
The police presented their case to the district attorney, but they said they were confident that they had a case against Jim.
On August 30, 1993, Minnie Salinas was arrested at work. However, the DA dropped her case as well.
Justice For Velia
Detective Daniel Gonzales never gave up on Velia’s case.
In 1995, Velia’s family took Jim to court over Velia’s $50,000 life insurance policy. Both Jim and Velia’s parents split the payment.
Jim was questioned during a deposition. In one of the questions, he was asked when the last time it was that he saw or spoke to Minnie. Jim said he hadn't seen Minnie in years. However, that was false, because they had gotten married in Las Vegas. Minnie was also 7 months pregnant at the time.
In 1999, a new district attorney was sworn in. Jim and Minnie were then formally charged.
The Convictions
In February 2000, Jim Guevara went on trial. His defense attorney Robert Mauer, claimed that the prosecution needed more evidence.
The jury disagreed, and Jim was found guilty of murder. He was sentenced to life in prison.
In July 2000, Minnie Salinas went on trial. The same evidence that was presented in Jim’s trial, was presented in this one.
Shelley testified that Minnie was the woman who she had seen on the day of the murder. Minnie’s defense attorney Bobby Barrera said that the prosecution shouldn’t be able to just rely on one witness.
Seven days later, a mistrial was declared. The jury had deliberated for 16 hours, and there were two holdouts.
Minnie was retried in May 2001. This time, she was found guilty, and sentenced to 50 years. She was also fined $10,000.
James ‘Jim’ Guevara and Minnie Salinas
Other
In 2005, Jim’s conviction was overturned due to a trial error. He was then retried, and again, sentenced to life in prison.
FINAL THOUGHTS
IT’S CALLED A DIVORCE PEOPLE!!! Jim could have easily divorced Velia, if he wanted to be with Minnie so bad. I believed Jim may have loved being in a relationship with both women.
I’m not sure who I think is the true mastermind. I’m leaning towards Minnie. However, they both planned to kill Velia, and almost got away with it. The San Antonio police did an amazing job, especially Det. Daniel Gonzales, because he never gave up. He gave Velia, and her family the justice they deserve.
Sources
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1047421.html
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1450516.html
https://www.myplainview.com/news/article/Man-convicted-for-second-time-in-death-of-wife-8685443.php
https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/fourth-court-of-appeals/2002/15023.html
