A Texas man faces mandatory life in prison over a 2008 murder-for-hire scheme in Mexico that U.S. prosecutors say left his wife and her sister and father dead.
Samuel Velasco Gurrola of El Paso was convicted Monday of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country and conspiracy to cause foreign travel for murder for hire. Two of his relatives pleaded guilty to conspiracy-related counts and face up to life terms.
Texas prosecutors say Velasco was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child and wanted to stop his wife, Ruth Sagredo Escobedo, from testifying.
Her father was slain in October 2008 in Ciudad Juarez. Her sister Cinthia Sagredo Escobedo was gunned down the next month. Velasco's wife was ambushed going to her sister's funeral.
