Kriti Mehrotra
The community of Crosby, Texas, was left terrified about a killer being on the loose after 18-year-old Eduardo Fernando Castro was found heinously murdered on Saint Francis Street. It was in the early hours of December 31, 2019, when he was stabbed to death, lying shirtless on the ground, but with a trail of blood leading to a nearby seemingly abandoned trailer home. Christopher Coronado was arrested in connection with the same days later, but he has always maintained his innocence, as explored in A&E’s ‘Accused: Guilty or Innocent?: Teenage Killer or Framed Victim?’
Christopher Coronado Was Arrested Based on Statements Provided by His Friends and Girlfriend
Born to Terri Coronado and Chris Coronado, Christopher Coronado admittedly dreamed of enlisting in the Navy to do something positive in his life, unaware that things wouldn’t pan out as he expected. That’s because he was arrested at the age of 17 on January 5, 2020, and charged with capital murder in connection with the death of Eduardo Castro. The high school senior was arrested days after his girlfriend, 16-year-old Jazmin, and two friends, Mark Ayala and Jeffrey, spoke to the authorities and implicated him in the matter with certainty.
According to Jazmin, she had gone on one date with Eduardo before she started dating Christopher around September 2019, but the former texted her to ask if she wanted to meet on the fateful day. His tone allegedly seemed a little flirty, she claimed, so her boyfriend got mad when she showed the text to him and told her to invite him to the trailer home her relative owned. As per her statements, the intention was to rob him so as to teach him a lesson and ensure he stays away from her, but it evolved into a physical fight between the two men, so she fled to call friends for help.
Jazmin’s accounts later changed, and she said she had actually seen the fight spill onto the street and Eduardo collapse before she rushed to a friend’s place for help. This friend was reportedly Mark, who was hanging out with Jeffrey, and the two men accompanied her to the scene, only to meet Christopher at a bridge in the neighborhood. As per their statements, the 17-year-old was “skipping,” “laughing,” and proudly declaring that he had killed Eduardo before he tossed a knife in the area. That’s when the murder weapon was found, near a chain fence, not far from the scene, and Christopher was arrested.
Christopher Coronado’s First Trial Ended With a Deadlocked Jury
Although Christopher was initially detained in a county jail without bond, he was granted bail on $100,000 after 5 months, with the stipulation that he wear an ankle monitor and abide by a 12-hour nighttime curfew. He stood trial almost 2 years later, during which the defense maintained that he was completely innocent. In fact, they alleged that he was at home at the time of the offense and was actually being framed by his girlfriend and friends for the offense. Throughout the trial, they thus poked holes in their testimonies and made it clear that they were not credible witnesses.
When Jazmin took to the stands and detailed that she was made to lure Eduardo so that Christopher could rob him, defense attorneys pointed out that her story had changed from when she first spoke to detectives to now. Moreover, they presented evidence of at least 3 phone calls between him and Mark before the latter’s interrogation, one of which lasted 19 minutes, suggesting they spoke to get their stories straight. Their allegation seemed reinforced by Mark’s testimony, as he admitted to lying to investigators in 2020 about the fact that he and Jazmin had been friends for a long time.
As if that’s not enough, he mistakenly confessed to tampering with evidence on the stand, claiming he had thrown the phone – Eduardo’s phone – Christopher had given him that night. Mark further admitted to being a Bloods gang member, which raised additional questions about his credibility. As for Jeffrey, during his cross-examination, he admitted to the defense attorney that he only initially spoke to the police to avoid being implicated in the case himself. Furthermore, they had the 911 caller take the stand, who testified that he had a ring camera on his house that pointed toward the crime scene, but investigators never even asked to look at it, and the video has since been deleted.
However, the prosecution argued that there was clear evidence of Christopher’s involvement because his DNA was not only on the weapon’s handle but also in the armpit of the victim. To this, the defense argued that Jazmin’s DNA on the handle was more prominent than her boyfriend’s and that DNA can be transferred through bodily fluids. They alleged that Jazmin and Christopher had gotten intimate in the trailer earlier on December 30, so there must have been DNA transfer to Eduardo from there. In the end, after two weeks of testimonies, the case went to the jury, who could not reach a decision even after a week, as they were deadlocked, resulting in the judge declaring a mistrial.
Christopher Coronado is Incarcerated in a Texas Prison After Pleading Guilty
After Christopher’s trial concluded, it came to light that all 12 jury members had voted to acquit him of the charge of capital murder, but 7 were voting to convict him of murder owing to the DNA evidence. As a result, the state decided to retry him, still determined to bring the matter to a close and give the victim the justice he deserved. Unfortunately, owing to financial constraints, the defendant’s family had to release their attorneys, following which the court handpicked his attorneys from a pool of qualified lawyers. His lead defense attorney was not in this pool, but a few other members of Christopher’s former defense team were, so the judge decided it would be best for the case to remain with them.
In the end, though, to avoid a retrial, possible conviction, and the direct sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for at least 40 years if found guilty, Christopher chose to accept a plea deal. On September 16, 2025, he was convicted of one count of murder and sentenced to 12 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 6 years. So, today, at the age of 23, he is incarcerated at the mixed-security Jim Ferguson Unit in unincorporated Madison County, Texas.
Christopher is expected to remain there until at least he becomes eligible for parole on July 1, 2031, but if he is denied parole, he will be released only upon completion of his sentence on July 6, 2037. We should also mention that in exchange for her testimony, Jazmin was given a plea deal too. She was also charged with capital murder, but she pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated robbery and was handed down 8 years of probation.
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