Rage and jealousy cloud the murder of the petite pediatric dentist who seemingly had it all. Who killed Kendra Hatcher? 'Dateline' tells her tale.
Kendra Hatcher was in love, and the feeling was once somewhat mutual. In May 2015, the 35-year-old pediatric dentist swiped proper on 38-year-old Ricky Paniagua because, in step with Texas Monthly, she was intrigued by way of his Tinder profile. Four months later, Hatcher used to be shot and killed in the parking storage of her Dallas, Texas, rental building. On the outside it gave the impression of a theft, but what in point of fact happened was way more sinister.
Who killed Kendra Hatcher? Dateline has the tale.
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Who killed Kendra Hatcher? There are a couple of twists and turns.
Before Paniagua began dating Hatcher, he was once in a just about three-year courting with 31-year-old Brenda Delgado. They met in August 2012 and three months later have been living together. Despite one brief breakup, things have been going great. Paniagua even gave Delgado a promise ring. She assumed they had been smartly on their approach to marriage until, in February 2015, Paniagua broke things off. Delgado was at a loss for words and devastated, but they maintained a friendship of sorts.
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Soon after, Paniagua began running into Delgado all over. He would see her on the running trails he frequented and as soon as ran into her at a Panera Bread as he used to be leaving with a date.
What Paniagua didn't know was once Delgado had his "email and iCloud passwords and a key to his apartment," consistent with Texas Monthly. She also downloaded a find-my-phone app to trace him, but hadn't done the rest to in fact interfere with Paniagua's existence until he began relationship Hatcher.
In June 2015, he emailed Delgado to proportion the "good news." He had formally moved on and was ecstatic. Paniagua and Hatcher had been in all places each and every different's social media or even mentioned starting a marriage fund. Delgado was once monitoring all of this, obsessively talking about them to whoever would pay attention.
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One of the ones folks was 23-year-old Crystal Cortes, who was suffering in my opinion and financially. When Delgado introduced her $500 to kill Hatcher, she stated sure. The two then approached a person named Kristopher Love, who agreed to help.
Per Texas Monthly, on Sept. 2, "someone walked up to her [Hatcher] in the parking garage of Gables Park 17 [her apartment] and fired a bullet into the back of her head." When government arrived to the scene, they took notice of the fact that her Coach handbag was once lacking and assumed this was once a robbery gone wrong. Delgado later known as Cortes and Love to confirm the deed used to be done. The 3 met up and Delgado walked away with Hatcher's Coach purse. However, her freedom could be short-lived.
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Where are Brenda Delgado, Crystal Cortes, and Kristopher Love now?
Jose Ortiz turned into unsuspectingly all in favour of Hatcher's murder when he lent his then-friend Delgado his black Jeep Cherokee, which she had due to this fact lent to Cortes and used to hold out Hatcher's homicide. When police released grainy surveillance footage of a black Jeep Cherokee fleeing the scene of the crime, Ortiz contacted authorities to transparent his name and provide proof the police wanted.
When Delgado was wondered, she did not crack, so the police let her go. Soon after, they picked up Cortes and then eventually Love. Unbeknownst to the police, Delgado left the rustic and was once staying with relations in Mexico. She used to be eventually extradited to the United States for her trial, which began in June 2019.
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It took jurors simply 20 minutes to convict Delgado of capital homicide. She was given a lifestyles sentence without parole and is currently serving her time at William P. Hobby Unit, a girls's correctional facility in Marlin, Texas.
As for Cortes and Love, Cortes was given a lower sentence of 35 years in alternate for testifying against Delgado. She is these days serving time at Christina Melton Crain Unit in Gatesville, Texas.
Cortes's testimony was once also used to condemn Kristopher Love to the death penalty. Per the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, previous to Hatcher's homicide, Love's legal document consisted of "12 arrests involving six violent offenses." He is currently sitting on dying row at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in West Livingston, Texas, regardless that an execution date has not been set.
For more on this tale, song into Dateline on Friday, Dec. 16, at 9 p.m. EST on NBC.
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