Snapped: Women Who Murder - Eunice Cristina Rodriguez

Episode Date: September 18, 2022

After a woman discovers her brother's brutally beaten body on his bathroom floor, Texas police follow clue after clue and weave together a tale of greed, deception, and manipulation.Season 29, Episode 12Originally aired: June 20, 2021Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of One Piece Podcast American Scandal. Our newest series looks at the story of OxyContin, a popular painkiller that helps spur an epidemic of addiction and drug abuse, in which prompted a broad campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable. Listen to American Scandal on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. For one kind and loving man, becoming a father was a dream come true. He just longed at that point to have a child.

He finally felt like for the first time he was going to be able to have that family he'd always wanted. But his bright future goes dark in an instant when he falls victim to a vicious attack. His hands was tied behind his back. I called out to him and he didn't respond. His face looked like he'd gotten in a fight with Mike Tyson.

It was one of the most savage beatings that I've ever seen. This was a brutal attack that lasted several minutes. Me died of violent death, there's no doubt about it. As investigators grapple for answers, a story of greed and betrayal begins to unfold. It looked like he was kind of juggling two women at once. She had mastered manipulation. I think he was still under her spell.

I can give you the opportunity to tell a truth or not, but I'm pretty much done with this bullsh**. There is no other reason for her to do this besides she's evil. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam.

It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam.

It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. It's E-foam. after 3 p.m. in Fort Worth, Texas, as Andrea Brown rushes to the home of her brother, 51-year-old Tommy Brown.

My aunt called me that Saturday around 8.45 in the morning. She asked me, had I talked to my brother and I told her, no, I tried to call him, no answer, which was unusual. She was concerned. You know, they remained in contact a lot. I went to the house. I walked around to the back of the house because he used to leave the side door unlocked,

and that door was locked. As her concern grows, Andrea works against the clock to find a way in. I decided to stick my hand in the mailbox, and it was a cigarette box with a key inside. That key happened to be a key to the front door. I opened the door, I walked in. On Drea sees no sign of her brother

until she turns to head towards the bedrooms. I just happened to look at the bathroom, which would have been to my right. And I looked down and he was laying on the floor. She discovers Tommy lying halfway in the bathroom, halfway in the hallway. I called the actum and he didn't respond. Tommy's bound and he's got bags over his head.

So at that point, I knew I needed to leave out the house because I realized it's a crime scene. I went to my aunt's house who originally called me and she asked was my brother there, and I said, he's dead. I said, hand me the phone so I could call 911. The question is, what happened? Somebody needs to be held responsible for killing this individual. My brother was a very given person.

I still don't believe it. Born in 1961, Tommy Brown and his sister Andrea grew up in Fort Worth. We was a very close-knit family. It was a family of four. My mother, father, my brother and I. I always wanted to be with my brother, whether I was scared or just wanted to hang out with him. So, I was always with him. As a young man, Tommy kept his social circle small, just like his stature. He was small but very strong.

He used to like to go proficient and efficient in general. By the time Tommy graduated high school, he had already established a career. He didn't go to college. He just stayed home after graduating and helped him on Father's side business, which was a janitorial service.

The first time I met Tommy, I interviewed him to come as a contractor with the janitorial company I was working for at the time. I just thought he was a good all-round person, so we hired him. Tommy was just kind of who we would want to have as a big brother or best friend. In 1999, when Andrea and Tommy's father passed away, Tommy took over the family's contract cleaning business. Tommy was very passionate, his work meant a lot to him. Tommy was the kind of person that made friends wherever he went, very friendly.

In 2004, after years of living a bachelor's lifestyle, 43-year-old Tommy began a serious relationship with one of his co-workers, Connie Moreno. Tommy and Connie were together when I met them. And she came along as his helper in the business. Connie was kind of quiet and shy. She didn't do a lot of talking. They had their highs and lows. It would be real good for a while,

and then it would just go sour. They were kind of on again, off again. It was kind of one of those kinds of relationships. Through it all, Tommy never had any doubt about his future with Connie. And in 2005, he asked her to move in with him. He was really in love with Connie, and he really wanted a life with Connie. And Tommy was someone who really wanted a child of his own who loved kids.

I do know that it was very important to him to have a family. After nearly a decade together in the spring of 2013, Tommy and Connie finally agreed that surrogacy was their best option for starting a family. Tommy was over the moon. He could not have been more happy. He finally felt like for the first time he was going to be able to have that family, he'd always wanted.

But six months later, plans for their family are suddenly destroyed when police are called to Tommy's home on September 7th. We go in and we do our walk through of the residence and what we see, there's obvious blood throughout the house. The concentrated areas of blood were, of course, around the victim, Tommy Lee Brown.

There was a significant amount of blood in the bathroom. He had a bag that was not only taped over his neck, but there were also shoelaces tied around his neck. His hands were tied behind his back. I mean, these are things that are clearly consistent with the murder. He had a lot of what I would call defensive wounds on his body, where he had been beaten in addition to strangulation.

Unfortunately, Tommy died of violent death. There was no doubt about it. Coming up, detectives begin to piece together this vicious crime. He had bruises and contusions all over his body. Part of his head was split open. There were sharks of porcelain there in the hallway and around the body.

And detectives see signs of a potential motive. His wallet, debit cards, and car keys were missing. And there was actually dust on the stand in an outline of where a TV would be. MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC

MUSIC Detectives standing over the body of 51-year-old Tommy Brown are struck by the sheer brutality of his attack. He was black and blue. All right, I mean, he had bruises and contusions all over his body. Part of his head was split open. I mean, his face looked like he'd gotten in a fight

with Mike Tyson. It was one of the most savage beatings that I've ever seen. I mean, his face looked like he'd gotten in a fight with Mike Tyson. It was one of the most savage beatings that I've ever seen. This wasn't a quick way to die. This wasn't a gunshot to the head. This was a brutal attack that lasted several minutes. Tommy had been dead for a little bit of time. Because his body had started to decompose.

He had some changes to the skin that don't happen immediately after death. To detectives, it isn't immediately clear what the murder weapon could have been. It could be an object, it could be fists, it could be having his head slammed against the wall or the ground, we just don't know. We were focused at that point on blunt force objects, which would be anything that could cause a heavy impact that would include baseball bats or anything like that.

Anything with a lot of weight and mass in general that would be used to beat him. Investigators find one potential clue. There were shards of horse-lun there in the hallway, and around the body. These small shards clearly could have been something that was used as a weapon in this murder. Detectives widen their search of the home.

There were two distinctly different foot track patterns through some of that blood. What that would lead us to believe is that here we have potentially two suspects involved. It seems one of the suspects might have suffered an injury during the attack. There was a perfect quarter size blood drop that was to the right of the little mat at the sink.

That was probably where the suspect had washed their hands or tried to clean up. And the way that that blood drop was, it was a perfect circle. So that means it came just straight down. The perpetrator probably cut their hand, and that was the suspect's blood. A sample of the blood is collected for DNA evidence. With no signs of a break-in, and since Andreia used a key

to enter her brother's home, investigators begin to draw a likely conclusion. The main initial feeling was, this is somebody he allowed in his home. So, we felt like most likely our suspect, our suspect, were going to be someone he knew and someone that's fairly close to him. This was a personal crime. Somebody wanted Tommy Brown dead. Though a break-in is unlikely to detectives, it seems Tommy's attackers might have taken more than his life.

When you walk into the front door to your left is going to be a couch. And to your right is a TV stand. One of the first things that Detective O'Brien noticed was that there was no TV on the TV stand, and there was actually dust on the stand and an outline of where a TV would be. Investigators look for other items the killers might have seized.

We're looking for Tommy's cell phone. We're looking for Tommy's wallet. We're looking for Tommy's ID card. We're looking for his debit card. The police learned pretty quickly that his wallet, debit cards, and card keys were missing as well. quickly that his wallet, debit cards, and car keys were missing as well. Outside, officers speak to Tommy's sister, Andrea Brown. I started talking to another police officer about his truck being missing and described a truck. As the officer takes Andre's statement, he has a sudden revelation.

One of the officers had brought to my attention, saying, hey, a couple days ago, I had a call over to convenience store, where there was a truck and the keys were left in the truck. And I just went back on his computer. He said, this is the same address I came back to. According to the officer, Tommy's truck is currently sitting

in an impound lot at the Fort Worth Police Department. In a stroke of luck, Tommy's truck was recovered. It had been left with keys running just roughly a mile away. And the owner of the store thought that was unusual that the keys were left in it, so he called and it was impounded. The details of the discovery seem anything but coincidental.

The way it was found with the keys in the mission, I know automatically Tom and I were both kind of thinking, okay, that's a little too convenient. That's almost like somebody take this truck. You can kind of see where that idea came from, and it appeared that this was going to be a nice little curveball we can give police. So whatever person takes the bait on this vehicle,

they're going to have a lot of explaining to them. As Andrea is transported to the station for her formal statement, detectives stop by the impound lot to inspect Tommy's truck. There appeared to be a lot in the bed of the truck. There was a trash can. It had a trash bag, and it appeared to have some bloody items inside there. Among the debris are large pieces of porcelain. It was immediately evident, okay. Among the debris are large pieces of porcelain.

It was immediately evident, okay, that's going to be consistent with those small shards of what looked like ceramic that were on the floor near Tommy's body. At that point, they realized that those ceramic pieces were a toilet tank lid. I actually had to go back to make sure there wasn't a toilet lid on that particular toilet.

I actually had to go back to make sure there wasn't a toilet lid on that particular toilet. As Detective O'Brien returns to the crime scene, other investigators scour the cab of the truck. There, they find something unusual. There were a few items that were found. One being a bus ticket. The bus ticket was in the name of a unis rudder, you guess. At this point, no one was able to figure out who unis was. While investigators ponder this new lead, Detective O'Brien reports his findings. He took a picture of the toilet, and there was no lid. The heavy ceramic portion that you would lift up

to fix the toilet if you had to, that they believed could have been used as a murder weapon. Coming up, surprising details emerge about Tommy Brown's love life. Basically, it looked like Tommy was kind of juggling two women at once. She told Tommy that she was pregnant with his child. And investigators tracked down Eunice Rodriguez.

She had served 10 years for robbery. with the woman who found his body. Tommy's sister, Andrea. Considering that Andrea had come forward to us with all of this information, it would be unlikely that she would be a suspect. And that's what happened. And that's what happened. And that's what happened.

And that's what happened. And that's what happened. And that's what happened. And that's what happened. And that Andrea had come forward to us with all of this information, it would be unlikely that she would be a suspect. According to Andrea, Tommy had a longtime girlfriend, Connie Moreno. But she wasn't the only woman in Tommy's life. He met someone through a friend of his.

Tommy referred to her as his girlfriend. He just said he had a new girl in his life, and that's what he called her. I got to have a new girl. And her name is Christina. Connie and Tommy were on again and off again. And very often when Connie and Tommy were on again and off again. And very often when, Connie and Tommy were off,

Christina and Tommy were on and vice versa. Basically it looked like Tommy was kind of juggling two women at once. Then, Andrea drops a bombshell. 37-year-old Christina's full name is Eunice Christina Rodriguez. They were able to discover that Eunice goes by Christina most often, and they were able to make that connection that it was Christina, that the bus ticket was purchased for.

That becomes important at that point. Maybe Christina might have some knowledge in involvement in this. And the more we learned about Christina, the more we felt like there's some red flags here. Born in El Paso in 1976, Eunice Christina Rodriguez was the second eldest of five children. It's five of us.

I'm the youngest, my oldest sister, Gracie and Christina, that's for my dad's first relationship. Christina is, oh my gosh, she's a goofball. Like, she is so funny. She was always laughing. Over the years, Christina worked several jobs to make ends meet. She was somebody that really tried to live lives. Certainly, she made some mistakes, but at her core, I think she was a pretty good person. According to Andrea Brown, Tommy met Christina

while she was serving a 10-year stint in prison. He never said why she was in jail. The only thing that we knew is that she was from El Paso. Andrea says the penpal relationship began in 2003 after a mutual friend introduced Tommy and Christina to one another. She would write and she would call,

and I read some of the letters, and she came across as a real caring person. When Tommy started dating Connie, he confided in Christina about their ups and downs and about his continued desire to start a family. He just longed at that point to have a child. My brother talked to her about that. And Christina also talked to Connie and wrote Connie letters. Christina also talked to Connie and wrote Connie letters.

In 2011, the Texas prison system granted Christina an early release, and she visited Tommy in Fort Worth whenever she could, especially when he and Connie were on the outs. Christina had filled that slot. She kind of filled that void for him. But Andrea tells detectives that by the spring of 2013, Tommy and Connie had committed to making things work. In an effort to repay Tommy for his support while she was in prison,

Christina offered to help the couple start a family. She agreed that she would have a baby for Tommy and Connie, because she really appreciated everything that my brother had did for her. He said that they were intimate once for the sole purpose of having a child. She told Tommy that she was pregnant with his child.

He told me it was around April of 2013 that she was expecting. He was excited that he was going to be a dad. But Andrea says Tommy's relationship with Connie was crumbling, and she moved out of their home, leading Andrea to assume one thing. The relationship was toxic. I told them that I felt like it was conny, because he didn't have any enemies.

Just as the interview is wrapping up, Andrea receives a bizarre text message. She said, hey, I just want to let you know I just a bizarre text message. She said, hey, I just want to let you know. I just got a text message from Tommy. It was a response to one of her previous text messages asking where Tommy was. He said, hey, I'm going to El Paso.

My girlfriend's pregnant. What do you want? I was shocked because at that point, I already know that he's been murdered. Investigators seized the opportunity. I had Andrea go ahead and text his phone and say, hey, it's no problem. Just call me when you get back from El Paso. We wanted to keep whoever had sent this message in the dark about us discovering the crime scene.

While Andrea is clear to go home and wait for a response, investigators get to work trying to track down the two women in Tommy's life, starting with Connie. We know that they're currently estranged. We know that she potentially had a key to access his home, or he would potentially allow her in. Investigators try contacting Connie to no avail. If this was someone you call your boyfriend and he ends up being murdered horrifically

and you're not making yourself readily available to the police. That was very interesting. Efforts to locate Christina also come up empty-handed. I was trying to be as diligent as I could to at least talk to Christina and find out what she heard, what she knew. It just proved to be a difficult task to locator. While officers fan out in search of Connie and Christina, detectives speak with one of Tommy's neighbors, who had reported seeing something suspicious at Tommy's house

around 11 p.m. on the night of September 5. Tommy had been seen last on the 5th, which was two days prior to Tommy's body being discovered. The neighbor related that he saw a female in a male go into Tommy's home. Describe the girl to me. What's your name? So, so, so. Okay.

Hispanic, white, and... The man had been described as a black male. He had longer hair and that just possibly they could have been brained. Hispanic, what kind? The man had been described as a black male. He had longer hair and that just possibly they could have been brained. While the neighbor didn't recognize the man or the woman, he is certain of one thing. That female definitely not come.

No, no, no, no. Yeah, I know Connie. The neighbors were very emphatic that this was not Connie, because Connie was a short, Hispanic female. And this lady was much taller. If the woman's scene going into Tommy's house wasn't Connie, investigators consider the next option, Christina Rodriguez. The description was very, very similar.

That's given us a pretty good definitive point to a suspect. Detectives also take a closer look at Christina's past. I did a national criminal history on her, and at that point had seen that she had served ten years for robbery. And at that point, it had seen that she had served 10 years for robbery. Investigators contact the El Paso Police Department to learn more about the arrest. In 2002, when she was living in El Paso, the family of an 82-year-old gentleman had put an ad in the El Paso newspaper for a nurse. And she answered it, right? This 82-year-old gentleman was almost legally blind. He was almost deaf, and he really needed some help.

After just a few hours with Christina on the job, the elderly gentleman summoned his daughters in a panic. When the two daughters get there, he is tied up with a phone cord. He's been assaulted in the house. It's been ransacked. That was what Christina did. Since her release from prison,

Christina had landed herself in trouble again. There were two separate reports in 2013. There was one in July and there was one in August. And it had to do with Tommy Collins saying Christina had taken his wallet, had taken his TV. I felt pretty confident that at least I need to look into the wallet in any credit cards Tommy had. So I had returned to the house and it started going through

any paperwork to suggest what kind of credit card or bank account he had. And it was at that time I was able to see that he had a debit card from the first national bank. Detective Secura Search warrant for Tommy's financial records. Basically, what we know, Tommy's alive Thursday night at 11 p.m. and then at 147 a.m. on Friday morning, that debit card gets used to 7-11 in Fort Worth.

Our goal was to try to find video at the time the card is being utilized at that store. And that was gonna give us our first picture. Coming up, investigators track a killer. They run and figure out this is probably our suspect in all these surveillance videos and a twisted love triangle is exposed. A little very Summer is finally here, which means the great outdoors are hotter, more humid, and filled with bugs.

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summer of podcasts pass you by. Right now, new subscribers can enjoy two months free of Wondery Plus. Visit Wondery.com or download the Wondery app to get started. Detectives in Fort Worth, Texas have reason to believe whoever murdered Tommy Brown is still using his debit card. One of Tommy's debit cards was used at 877-11, subsequent to his death. We have a potential suspect of Christina Rodriguez. We've already got this report that she sold his bank cards in the past, so could this be happened again?

Detectives waste no time obtaining footage from the convenience store where Tommy's card was last used. We see a tall blackmail coming into the store, and he had a bandage wrapper on his hand. That was consistent with our crime scene, too, in the belief that somebody had injured themselves in the crime scene. While the man's face is clear in the video,

detectives can't get a good look at his companion. They were initially parked at the gas pumps in a dark colored vehicle. I think you could see that there was another pasture in the vehicle. Investigators move on to the dollar general where the next charges appear on Tommy's card and their suspicions are confirmed. We had pulled up the video surveillance. We were seeing this individual who had a big old bandage around his hands.

And we were seeing Christina. You could make out clear as day that it was her. Just as detectives make a positive ID on Christina, they finally track down the other woman in Tommy's life, Connie Moreno. I was finally able to contact Connie, and I was able to interview her. I've been trying to get a hold of you. Obviously, this was a very serious matter.

So I mean, just to ask you, Flab, did you have anything to do with Tommy's death? Not in my knockout, no way. She was at a relative's or something like that. During the time period where they believe Tommy was murdered. They were able to eliminate her. Investigators now focus all of their efforts

on finding Christina and her associate. Two days after the discovery of Tommy's body, detectives receive a tip from Tommy's employers. Debra Grimes got a text message from Tommy's body, detectives receive a tip from Tommy's employers. Deborah Grimes got a text message from Tommy's phone on September 9th. And the actual text message said, Deborah, I won't be back no time soon. I don't know if you remember. I told you I was going to be a father,

while my girl is in the hospital, and I'm low in cash. He texted, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to get my pay and send it to me, Western Union. I need some money. And then I get a text that says, don't send the money in my name because I don't have my ID. He said, if you can send the money to my cousin, his name is Braylon Ellis.

This is the first time that we hear the name Braylon Ellis. They run him and they look at his driver's license and figure out this is probably our suspect in all these surveillance videos. Investigators immediately issue arrest warrants for both Braylon and Christina, but first, they have to find them. The US Marshals have an ability to ping a cell phone,

and they were able to tell that the cell phone was pinging at a location in Snellville, Georgia, which is just a little northeast to the Atlanta. The home belongs to Brailin's mother. The local police go in. They take him into custody. They completely lock down and freeze. Brailin's mother's house, so nobody can tamper with any evidence.

When I got the information that they were arrested, I was on a plane probably two hours later. I had made contact with the Good County Sheriff's Department, and they were able to assist me in obtaining a search warrant. Detective O'Brien, when he goes in to Braille and in Christina's room, he searches the room. And what does he do? Detective O'Brien takes out his cell phone, calls Tommy's phone.

I figured the phone was probably on, and so I just called it. And then I heard it ringing, basel in the back of the dresser. It was like the air went out of the room. It was like, oh my god, this dead man's cell phone rings. I mean, that is a damning piece of evidence that gets Braylon and Christina. It was like, oh my God, this dead man's cell phone rings. I mean, that is a damning piece of evidence that gets Braille and Christina.

Tommy's phone isn't all they find. And the car that Braille and Christina were driving was Tommy's wallet, his ID, his debit card. At the local police station, Detective O'Brien attempts to interview Christina. If you want to talk to us, you sign this, doesn't mean you did anything wrong. It just means you want to talk to us.

Well, I'm the system. I talked to my lawyer yesterday. It takes us and he states to me, I can't talk to you. I love his presence. That's your right. Christina pretty much right away invoked her right time in the attorney's present.

And so I did have a conversation with her. In another room, Bralyn agrees to talk, but he has anything but forthright. OK. You don't know who he is? Never met him before. Never heard of him? I don't know. Nothing about. Never met him before. Never heard of him. I don't know, nothing about that to be.

He just plays dumb. And by the way, he's sitting there in front of two homicide detectives and he has stitches in his hand. Watch your tell me how you got hurt. I don't know, Dallas. I'm walking over on that straight people in the tank. Investigators try a different route and begin asking Brailleen about his relationship with Christina.

Christina in Brailleen had met a few months before the murder. Brailleen was actually taking a bus from Dallas out to California. He meets Christina on the bus. They chat, they exchange numbers, and he goes on to California. At some point, he comes back to Dallas in Coles, Christina. They do a long-distance dating relationship.

He goes out to Opasso, and then he and Christina basically are living together. How much do you love Christina? A little very much an area. Investigators continue to press Brailleen. Brailleen, I'm sitting here willing to listen to you, but I don't want to play games with you. I told you, I don't know what you're talking about. So you don't know?

No. I can give you the opportunity to tell the truth or not. But I'm pretty much done with this bullshit. Under pressure, Braylin begins to backtrack. You know what Tommy Brown is? You ever heard his name? I've heard his name before. Braylin admits to knowing that Tommy and Christina

once had a relationship, but claims Tommy was abusive. Well, he beat all her. You know, he didn't confess, but it was definitely damning that he starts to change his story during his interview. I think he was still all in for Christina. I think he was still all in for Christina. I think he was still under her spell. Coming up, a master manipulator is exposed. She was telling Brailin that it was his baby.

She was telling Tommy that it was his baby. It turns out that that was just some big con. On September 10, 2013, police in Fort Worth charged 37-year-old Christina Rodriguez and her boyfriend, 27-year-old Braille and Ellis, with the murder of Tommy Brown. This is one of those rare investigations where the evidence just keeps on giving. There was always something popping up that's really why the

investigation didn't stop. Finally, in March of 2016, investigators believe they have enough to take Braylin Ellis to trial, including one damning new piece of evidence. It takes months for DNA to get run. It's not like what you see on TV. Now, we have the results of that. We've got ceramic pieces with Tommy Brown and Braylon Ellis's DNA on it. It's enough for a Texas jury to quickly find Braylon guilty of murder. He got life sentence with the possibilities for rope.

The judge, he told my son, he said, you gonna get out, but you gonna do some time. I didn't like it. I was upset about it, but one wrong decision can change your life forever. Ten months later, in January of 2017, Christina's trial begins. To help walk jurors through what really happened on September 5, 2013,

prosecutors call a surprise witness, Braylon Ellis. He came back without a deal for any reduction in his sentence, just to testify against Christina because he thought it was the right thing to do. Braylon explains to the jury that he was deeply in love with Christina and was overjoyed when she shared some exciting news with him. She told him that she was carrying his child.

Clearly she was telling Brailleen that it was his baby, she was telling Tommy, that it was his baby. According to Braille, fatherhood wasn't all Christina dangled over his head just before the murder. Christina made the allegation that Tommy had to get on her and beat on her. This upsets Braille, because, you know,

one, he's in love with her. Two, he thinks that she's carrying his child. Three, now he's upset that his lady's been roughed up. So he was gonna go over there and beat Tommy up, and so that was their original plan, and then headed Georgia. Bralyn claims while Tommy was out running an errand on the night of September 5th,

Christina used the spare key from Tommy's mailbox to sneak him into Tommy's house. He hides in the bathroom, and Tommy comes home. He hears Tommy coming down the hall. What Braylon testifies to is he's just panicking in the bathroom, because he's supposed to rough this guy up. He's looking around like, well, what can I use? He says he grabs the toilet tank lid,

and he times it perfectly that when Tommy gets to the bathroom, he comes out, hits him over the head with it. Brailleen then testifies that he beats him probably 10 to 13 times. Tommy's on the ground. He's gasping. Christina comes in, hands him a pot from the kitchen, goes here, use this. And so he hits him on the head two or three times with a pot. Then he put the bag over Tommy's head.

Following the attack, Christina ordered Braille into load Tommy's TV into the back of his truck, while she went back inside for Tommy's wallet. She's going to steal what she can from him, and she's going to head to Georgia with her new little boyfriend. He was in love with her. She had manipulated him to a hot love, and she had mastered manipulation. Coming to find out the girl was lying to my son, she wasn't pregnant by my son, and she wasn't pregnant with Mr. Brown son.

She was telling both of them that, oh, my God. It turns out that that was just some big con that she was never pregnant, and it's like she was using that to be a victim. She went so far, this to get on the internet, and pull off a photograph of an ultrasound to show Tommy. Her actions were just so sadistic, even though the whole situation was sadistic.

Whatever story she fed him, he was in protection mode. After Braille's chilling testimony, prosecutors have one more card to play. There was a witness who turned out to be a fellow cellmate of Christina in the county jail, pending her trial. According to the cellmate, Christina had revealed one additional detail about her role in the crime. She said Tommy was still alive, and she's just disgusted that Brayland hasn't, you know,

finished Tommy off. She said when Brayland hasn't finished Tommy off. She said when Braylin couldn't finish the job, she finished Tommy off. And obviously that's pretty devastating. The jury agrees. On January 31, 2017, they find Christina Rodriguez guilty, handing her the same sentence as Brayland. They both received the live sentence.

They will be eligible for parole around 2043. The decision leaves the lives of several families forever changed. I feel she should have life without the possibility of parole. There is no other reason for her to do this besides she's evil. She's not a bad person like a lot of people see her as. She is remorseful. She feels bad what happened to him. There was no evidence that Tommy was abusing her.

I think she's just a cold lady and just wanted him gone. Christina Rodriguez is currently serving her time at the Hilltop facility in Gatesville, Texas. She will be eligible for parole at the age of 67. Braylon Ellis is serving his time at the Robertson facility in Abilene, Texas. He will be eligible for parole at the age of 55. 5.