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A Texas jury acquitted a 30-year-old man who shot and killed a woman he met on Craigslist after she refused to have sex with him.

The man in question, Ezekiel Gilbert, has been cleared of murder after the Texas court determined that his actions were “justified after he shot an escort when she took his money but refused to have sex with him,” according to the Daily Mail.

Lenora Frago was shot in the neck by Gilbert on Christmas Eve 2009. As a result, the 23-year-old was paralyzed and died several months later.

The acquittal came from a Bexar County Texas court which determined that Mr Gilbert, who was facing a life sentence, should not be convicted of murder “because he was trying to retrieve stolen property.”

The defense argued that “the shooting was not intended to kill Miss Frago and his actions were justified because he believed sex was included as part of the fee.”

All of this worked for the defense because in Texas, residents are allowed to “to use deadly force to recover property during a nighttime theft.”  Seriously.

Miss Frago, was dependent on a respirator as a result of being left paralyzed in the shooting.

She died in July 2010, after having suffered severe brain damage when the respirator disconnected a few months after she was shot.

Miss Frago’s brother cried during the trial as he spoke of the moment the family decided to put an end to her life support, according to a local report from My San Antonio.

Neurologist Augusto Parra said that the defense was wrong and the death was clearly Gilbert’s fault.

“When you are bedridden like her – with mechanical support, with tubes for feeding – these patients are prone … to have complications,” Mr Parra explained. “She was in this situation because she was shot.”

Christopher Perkins, the young woman’s manager, explained to the court that while Frago was an escort, the $150 fee in no way guaranteed sex.

He explained that “Lenora normally would do lap dances and hanging out. That was her thing. Her regular customers were all quiet, reserved guys and she would hang out.”

After being rejected, Perkins waited in the car outside Gilbert’s Camino Real Apartments around 4:15am when he approached the two with an assault rifle.

Frago sped away from the apartment, while Gilbert fired the gun, hitting Frago in the neck.

Perkins explained that remembered her saying: “He’s got a gun! Go! Go! Go!” before hearing the shots, according to a report by the San Antonio Express-News.

Gilbert hugged his defense attorneys and thanked God, his lawyers, and the jury for being able to “see what wasn’t the truth,” as he claimed he was “just trying to retrieve” his stolen property… Frago’s body.

 

Source:  Counter Current News