Naman Shrestha
While the main focus of Netflix’s ‘I Am a Killer: A Mother’s Choice’ is the brutal killing of Jose Menchaca, planned by his own cousin Candie Dominguez and her boyfriend, Daniel Lopez, the episode also explores the crime through the perspective of the victim’s girlfriend at the time — Sylvia Flores. Not only was she a hostage during the time of the murder, but she also kickstarted the investigation by escaping her captors and informing the police of the gruesome crime.
Sylvia Flores Was Held Captive While Jose Menchaca Was Being Beaten to Death
In 2014, Sylvia Flores was in a loving relationship with Jose Luis Menchaca Jr., but little did she know that his association with drugs would lead to something life-threatening. In September 2014, Jose met with his drug dealer, Daniel Lopez, for a drug deal. Unfortunately, a disagreement ensued between the two and led to a heated argument. According to Sylvia, things went further south when Jose stabbed his drug dealer, who shot at him in return, as he fled the scene. Neither of them were medically treated for their respective injuries. The two were linked via Candie Dominguez, who was Jose’s cousin and Daniel’s girlfriend at the time.
Sylvia claimed that Candie, who resided with Daniel in the 400 block of Hillwood Drive on the North Side in San Antonio, Texas, was quite close to Jose, also known as “Pee Wee.” Addicted to heroin at the time, Sylvia’s life turned upside down on the evening of September 30, 2014, when she and Jose went to Candie’s house to exchange makeup for drugs. According to Sylvia, as soon as they entered the back bedroom, Daniel and his cousin, Gabriel Moreno, began hitting him with baseball bats. As per her claims, the beating was so severe that her boyfriend was going in and out of consciousness.
She claimed that she could not tell how long exactly the beating lasted as she was allegedly forced into the restroom of the house, where they stripped her of her clothing and held her hostage. After being locked at the Hillwood Drive house for about three days, she was moved to a residence in the 9100 block of Canter Horse Drive on the Northwest Side. According to her, she was kept captive because she was a witness to the crime the two Texas Mexican Mafia gang members had committed. When she was moved back to the Hillwood Drive house, Daniel allegedly showed her the barbecue pit where he burned Jose’s body parts. After 10 days of being a captive, she somehow managed to escape and went straight to the police station to give a statement about the incident.
Sylvia Flores Has Been Living Under the Radar
Thanks to Sylvia Flores’ statements against Candie Dominguez, Daniel Lopez, and Gabriel Moreno, the police were able to arrest them and bring them to trial. On June 5, 2018, Daniel was convicted of murdering Jose Luis Menchaca. In November 2018, during the sentencing of Daniel, she took the stand and read her victim impact statement, saying, “You took away someone I loved.” Sylvia claimed that after the traumatic tragedy, she had to go see multiple doctors for at least a month or so.
In order to deal with the trauma and terrifying images of her boyfriend being beaten to death, she was on medication for several years. She said, “I fear I will never be the same.” During the trial of Gabriel, Sylvia testified against him as she emphasized that she saw the defendant, his cousin, Daniel Lopez, beat her boyfriend on the fateful night of September 30, 2014. As of today, Sylvia supposedly leads a private life close to her loved ones and away from the prying eyes of the media.
Read More: Gabriel Moreno: Where is Daniel Lopez’s Cousin Now?
