Naman Shrestha
In 2014, when the remains of Jose Luis Menchaca Jr. were discovered in the garage of his cousin, Candie Dominguez, the entire community was left shell-shocked. Apart from the discovery of Jose’s death, another layer of shock came with the fact that his cousin might have had something to do with the murder. Although she turned out to be responsible for the crime, she was not the only one as she was helped by her boyfriend, Daniel Lopez. Netflix’s ‘I Am a Killer: A Mother’s Choice’ features exclusive interviews with several individuals connected to the case, including Daniel, who shares his side of the story.
Daniel Lopez Conspired With His Girlfriend and Cousin to Kill Jose Menchaca
Daniel Moreno Lopez got involved with drugs in his teenage years and became a member of the notorious Texas Mexican Mafia. In August 2014, he met Candie Dominguez for the first time through his cousin. As one thing led to another, they became romantically involved with each other. Not long after he started dating her, he began selling drugs to her cousin, Jose Luis Menchaca Jr., who was also affiliated with the Texas Mexican Mafia. However, before he began dating Candie, he had been dating another woman named Dominique Elizabeth Hernandez, who went missing in July 2014.
Sometime in September, a drug deal between Daniel and Jose turned into something violent as the latter reportedly stabbed Candie’s boyfriend in the back before fleeing the scene. In an attempt to get revenge for the unexpected attack, Daniel and his girlfriend came up with a plan to ambush the cousin. On the evening of September 30, 2014, after Candie lured Jose and his girlfriend, Sylvia, into her house at the 400 block of Hillwood Drive on the North Side in San Antonio, Texas, he was met by the familiar face of Daniel and his cousin, Gabriel Moreno. While Sylvia was locked in a separate room and held hostage, Daniel and Gabriel beat Jose with baseball bats multiple times, according to Candie.
After beating him and strangling him to death, Daniel allegedly ordered Candie to dismember his body and put his limbs on the barbecue grill in her backyard. Being affiliated with the Texas Mexican Mafia, Daniel had a rich incarceration history and was considered extremely dangerous. When he was linked to Jose’s murder, he was also suspected of being involved in the disappearance and murder of his former girlfriend, Dominique Hernandez. When Jose’s remains were recovered by the police in a plastic tub in Candie’s garage and barbecue grill, they arrested and charged all three involved in the crime — Daniel Lopez, Gabriel Moreno, and Candie Dominguez.
Daniel Lopez is Serving His Sentence at a Maximum-Security Texas Prison
In the following years, the prosecution built a case against Daniel Lopez and took him to trial in the summer of 2018 for the murder of Jose Luis Menchaca Jr. During the trial, it was emphasized that some of the remains were burned on the barbecue grill in an attempt to get rid of the evidence. After deliberating for about three years, on June 5, 2018, the jury returned with a guilty verdict and convicted him of the crime. As soon as the verdict was read, the killer reportedly began to flail in the court and was forced from the court while his mother broke down and repeatedly screamed, “No!” Before his sentence hearing in November 2018, Daniel caused a scene again, this time becoming violent with the guards.
After the deputies got him under control, they took him to court, and he was surrounded by various armed guards at all times. A couple of witnesses also testified that they saw David kill Domonique at a Pleasanton apartment a couple of months prior to the killing of Jose. They also claimed that he dismembered her body and burned the remains on a barbecue grill at his sister’s house, similar to what he made Candie do to the body of her cousin. After listening to both sides of the coin, in December 2018, the judge came to a decision and sentenced Daniel Moreno Lopez to life for the brutal murder and dismemberment of Jose Luis Menchaca Jr. At the moment, he is incarcerated at the John B. Connally Unit in Kenedy, Texas, with his parole eligibility date scheduled for October 2044.
Read More: Candie Dominguez: Where is the Killer Now?
