DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, working with the Highland Park Department of Public Safety, arrested George Guo, 56 for the capital murder of Dr. Katherine Bascone in June 1988.

George Guo

The DA’s office said Guo sexually assaulted and strangled Dr. Bascone on June 19, 1988 in Highland Park.

Dr. Bascone was 28 years old when she was attacked.

Due to her strangulation, Dr. Bascone suffered an anoxic brain injury which left her blind, unable to control her extremities, confined to bed, in need of rehabilitation and needing lifetime assistive/nursing care.

On February 22, 2018, while in hospice care, Dr. Bascone died of her injuries.

Guo, a graduate of UT Southwestern Medical School and a former medical doctor, had relocated to the Houston area. The Highland Park Department of Public Safety in conjunction with the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, the Harris District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offender Task Force, the Houston Police Department SWAT team, and the Harris County Sheriff’s Department arrested Guo on Wednesday without incident in Houston.

Guo will be brought back to Dallas County, where he will be booked on a single charge of capital murder.

Guo, a registered sex offender, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole and is eligible for the death penalty.

He was convicted in 1991 for a home burglary in Highland Park where he broke into apartment of a 19-year-old SMU student and began to sexually assault her when the police were able to break down the door of the apartment and catch Guo in the act. A licensed medical doctor at the time, police found Guo is possession of a ski mask, military tear gas (mace), screwdrivers, a glass cutter, condoms, and multiple syringes filled with hospital grade sedatives.

In 1999, in Meadows Place, Texas, a suburb of Houston, Guo was caught breaking into the home where a juvenile female lived with the intent to commit sexual assault. He was convicted of burglary with intent to commit sexual assault and sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was released from prison in 2013.

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Two men are charged with capital murder in the shooting deaths of two men found in stuffed in the trunk of a Cadillac near a West Dallas park.

Moises Martinez

Authorities say 37-year-old Moises Martinez has admitted his role in the homicides and has named an accomplice, 26-year-old Andres Frausto. Frausto already was in custody on an unrelated charge.

Mugshot of Andres Frausto. (credit: Dallas Police Department)

The bodies of 20-year-old Jacob Collard and 28-year-old and Robert Diaz III were found on May 15 after city employees noticed a foul odor coming from a Cadillac ATS parked at Pueblo Park, in the 500 block of Pueblo Street.

When Dallas Fire-Rescue arrived they found the bodies of Collard and Diaz inside the trunk.

An arrest warrant affidavit says police used phone records to tie Martinez to Diaz, who worked at a construction company that also employed Collard.

One witness has told police Martinez had been selling drugs to the slain men.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

MESQUITE (CBDFW.COM) – Cassius Shakembe Williams, the son of Dallas Cowboys legend Erik Williams, is behind bars today charged with Capital Murder.

Cassius Williams and Rozman Rah-saan Shannon Jr. are both charged in connection with the shooting deaths of two men on June 12.

Cassius Williams (credit: Dallas County Sheriff’s Office)

According to police, officers in Mesquite were called to an area near Gus Thomasson Road and Whitson Way after reports of gunfire. When they arrived they found 19-year-old Jacob Hollett and 18-year-old James Prater had both been shot.

Hollett was found in the driver’s seat of a gray Nissan. The teenager was taken to a local hospital but died from his injuries. Prater, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was found nearby in the driver’s seat of a red Dodge pickup.

Rozman Rah-saan Shannon Jr. (credit: Mesquite Police Department)

Police say the victims met with Williams, 20, and Shannon, 21, to sell them marijuana, but one of the men pulled a gun and demanded the drugs. Investigators say Hollett was shot first as he attempted to drive away and Prater was shot second. Both men were hit several times.

Williams and Shannon, both Garland residents, are each charged with two counts of Capital Murder with bonds of $1 million each. If convicted, the men could face the death penalty.

Erik Williams was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 3rd round of the 1991 NFL Draft and played for the team from 1991 to 2000. He was a four-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champ.

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – A man is in custody after admitting to shooting his former girlfriend on Tuesday, June 19.

The suspect, Jamie Devon Brown, was arrested on a capital murder charge in the Longview area.

Jamie Devon Brown

Bond is set at $150,000.

Brown was booked into the Gregg County Jail in Longview.

On Tuesday, Fort Worth Police officers responded to a call at 4900 Bellaire Drive S., about a woman lying in the grass. She was dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds, police said.

Investigators said Brown provided a statement admitting to shooting the victim.

The victim’s identity has not yet been released. Neither have details on a the motive.

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – The woman murder and dumped in a Fort Worth neighborhood last week was a domestic violence victim, and now her family hopes her death draws attention to how others can escape an abusive situation.

Kelly Lawson

In her final days, Kelly Lawson was in the process of getting a protective order against her ex-boyfriend, according to a Fort Worth Police Department report. The document says ex-boyfriend Jaime Brown had threatened to kill her and slashed her tires.

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Fort Worth Police believe he kidnapped her on June 15.

At 2:00 a.m. the next day, she tried to get away from him at an intersection in Overtown Woods area in Fort Worth.

Police say evidence at the scene suggests she fought for her life, trying to run away. Her clothes were ripped, as if someone was forcing her to stay. Her topless body was found by neighbors when the sun came up.

Jaime Brown

“At the end of the day a protective order is still just a piece of paper,” said Lacy Hensley, Director of Intake and Client Services at One Safe Place in Fort Worth. “If someone had a protective order against them, they’re not allowed to carry firearms. They can be consequences in regards to custody of children. It can definitely aggravate the situation.”

Hensley works with people trying to escape domestic violence at One Safe Place in Fort Worth, and says they often see it make a situation more violent.

She says a protective, not a restraining order is what victims need to get. Police can only arrest an abuser with a protective order. To get one, the victim must show a history of violence in front of a judge. Protective orders are free, if you go through the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office.

Brown was arrested last week and charged with capital murder. He remains in jail in Longview, Texas.

LAREDO (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A South Texas prosecutor says he’ll seek the death penalty for a U.S. Border Patrol supervisor who investigators say killed a woman with whom he was romantically involved and their 1-year-old child.

The Webb County District Attorney said in a statement Wednesday that he’ll seek capital punishment for Ronald Anthony Burgos Aviles.

His statement came after a grand jury indicted Burgos Aviles on two counts of capital murder.

Burgos-Aviles is being held without bond in the Webb County Jail. Online court and jail records don’t indicate whether he has an attorney.

The 29-year-old had claimed he found the body of Grizelda Hernandez at a Laredo park, adjacent to the Rio Grande and just south of the World Trade Bridge that carries traffic between the U.S. and Mexico, while on patrol. The child’s body was found nearby. Both died of stab wounds.

Authorities have not revealed a motive for the killings.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) –  A judge in Tarrant County has found the wife of world famous pianist Vadym Kholodenko not guilty by reason of insanity in the deaths of their two daughters.

It was in 2016 when Kholodenko went to pick up his oldest daughter for school and found his estranged wife, Sofya Tsygankova, “going crazy” and “covered with blood” and then found the bodies of his daughters.

The insanity determination continues a lot of back-and-forth in the case. It was around this time last year, after Tsygankova had been treated at a mental health facility, that a judge determined she was competent and returned her to the Tarrant County Jail to stand trial. Of course that action was taken a year after the Benbrook mother had been found incompetent to stand trial by a Tarrant County court.

“In this case, a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity is correct under the facts, and it is what justice demands,” Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson said in a statement today after news of the verdict. “Under our law, a person who does not understand that their conduct is wrong because of their severe mental disease cannot be convicted.”

Sofya Tsygankova – Benbrook mother charged with murdering her two daughters.

Tsygankova and Kholodenko were in the middle of a contested divorce when their two little girls — 5-year-old Nika and 1-year-old Michela — were found dead in the home they all once shared. When police discovered the children they also found Tsygankova in a blood-stained night gown “rocking back and forth, and making noises.” She had a puncture wound on her chest and a cut on her wrist that were later determined to have been self-inflicted.

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra posted this photo of little NIka and her father Vadym Kholodenko in January. (credit: Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra/Facebook)

Days after the death of his children Kholodenko used music to pay tribute to their memories during a memorial service held in the girl’s honor.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jurors have convicted a man in the 2016 death of a student who was sexually assaulted strangled on the University of Texas campus.

Meechaiel Criner

Twenty-year-old Meechaiel Criner was found guilty of capital murder Friday in the death of 18-year-old Haruka Weiser.

Haruka Weiser

Weiser was a freshman dance major from Portland, Oregon. She was walking to her dormitory after a rehearsal when she was attacked.

Criner was a 17-year-old foster care runaway at the time.

He says he didn’t kill Weiser. Prosecutors say several items linked Criner to the crime, including a pair of eyeglasses found at the scene that matched glasses worn by Criner.

The conviction means an automatic life sentence, though Criner will be eligible for parole after 40 years.

Criner was ineligible for the death penalty because he was 17 when the crime occurred.

(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Police have arrested a man who they say shot and killed another man after stealing his wallet and phone.

Kevin Mead was arrested for the capital murder of Marin Deleon, 26.

Mead, who is from New Orleans, shot Deleon in the parking lot of the Mountain Creek Apartments, the arrest affidavit says.

Deleon late died at Baylor Hospital from a gunshot wound.

During his interview, Mead admitted to a role in the murder, the arrest affidavit says.

His bond set at $1 million.

LEWISVILLE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — Lewisville Police have identified 27-year-old Blair Ness as the suspect in Sunday’s fatal stabbing that killed his son, one-year old Ashton Ness.

Blair Ness

He’s been charged with capital murder. 

An arrest affidavit reveals Ness said to an officer as he was taken into custody at Oak Forest Apartments Sunday, “I know every one’s mad, I’m mad. I killed my son.” 

Blair Ness with his son, Ashton (Family Photo)

The document states a forensic investigator found multiple stab wounds all over the boy’s body and head. When officers went into Ness’ apartment they noticed an odor of fresh burnt marijuana and a haze of smoke in the apartment. There was a large blood stain in the master bedroom. Ness’ girlfriend told investigators she didn’t know why he would want to kill their son. She said he had been reading the Bible a lot and they’d been attending church services. 

Tuesday afternoon the suspect’s family shared a statement:

“At this time the family asks to be left alone for their time to mourn the loss of sweet baby Ashton. We are all deeply affected and never ever thought any of this could’ve happened. A man to brutally murder his own son. The shock of this vicious act will forever affect anyone that is close to this horror that happened on August 19th. We thank you for all the support, space and kindness during this time. We love you Ashton and we will always remember your beautiful smile and laughter. Blair Ness we feel left this earth sometime in the last few weeks as he opened a door to allow demons to enter into his body. There are no other reasonable conclusions as to why he would harm that child. He loved that child” 

In recent weeks they say the suspect dove deep into religion, sharing his last Facebook post where he says “He gives all glory to Jesus Christ.” 

A public candlelight vigil will take place this Thursday for Ashton at Wayne Ferguson Plaza in Lewisville at 7:30 p.m.. 

“We as a community want to shower them with love and show that child that they’re not forgotten,” organizer Audra Smolinski said. 

Donation’s to the boy’s mother can be made at The Draft House Bar & Grill in Little Elm where she works. A GoFundMe account has also been set up for her by Ashton’s grandfather.

Ness’ bond is set at $1.5 million. 

Ness has a criminal history in New Mexico. In 2013, he was arrested on rape charges and for resisting arrest in Los Lunas.

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – The trial continues Thursday for the man accused of beating his girlfriend’s daughter to death in 2016. The death of four-year-old Leiliana Wright rocked North Texas after gruesome details emerged from the case.

Leiliana’s mother, Jeri Quezada, pleaded guilty in July 2017 as part of a plea deal.

She was back on the stand Thursday and talked about the torture her daughter endured before she was killed.

Leiliana Wright (credit: Alisa & Craig Clakley)

Charles Wayne Phifer, 36, faces a capital murder charge for killed the four-year-old in Grand Prairie in 2016.

Quezada showed little emotion on the stand as she admitted to taking her anger out on her children.

Charles Phifer

Court records show the mother told investigators her daughter was injured after falling in the shower. However, authorities say Quezada changed her story several times during the week. She later admitted to shooting heroin and then repeatedly hitting her daughter.

She testified that Phifer tied her daughter up with belts inside the closet and used electric wire around her wrists.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner says Leiliana died of blunt force trauma to the head and abdomen.

Quezada spoke of the chilling words from her daughter before she died. When asked if her daughter said she didn’t want live anymore, the mother replied: “She did.”

Quezada will spend 50 years behind bars.

Grand Prairie police who handled the case also testified on Thursday.

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Testimony will resume Friday morning in the trial of a man accused of beating his girlfriend’s 4-year-old daughter to death.

Charles Phifer

Charles Wayne Phifer, 36, is charged with capital murder and is facing a possible life prison sentence without the possibility of parole in the beating death of Leiliana Wright.

Leiliana Wright (credit: Alisa & Craig Clakley)

Wright’s death became a scathing indictment of systemic Child Protective Services failures.

Her paternal grandparents had reported suspicions of abuse months earlier after noticing bruising, but nothing was done.

By the time paramedics arrived at the family’s Grand Prairie home in March of 2016, it was too late to save Leiliana from the people who should have been protecting her.

Her mother, Jeri Quezada, pleaded guilty to felony injury to a child charges last year. She is awaiting sentencing.

“If I testify truthfully, then I will be sentenced to 50 years in prison,” Quezada told jurors Thursday while dressed in a jail inmate jumpsuit.

Jeri Quezada (CBS11)

She told jurors she and Phifer used heroin on the night that Leiliana was fatally beaten. Later, her mother, Adeline Carr, would tell jurors she had no knowledge of her daughter’s drug use and angrily told reporters to “get out of her face” when asked if she was aware of the abuse.

Earlier, Carr showed no emotion as she spoke about the 4-year-old beaten to death in her own home… a death in which investigators said her mother is at best complicit in protecting her abuser.

Grand Prairie Police Sgt. Brad Makovy shared with jurors a portion is his interview with Quezada concerning her treatment of Leiliana, including “how she would lose her temper and take things out on her. Talked about slapping her in the face, she had mentioned later on that she had even kicked her on several occasions as a form of discipline.”

We have known for some time now that Leiliana died an awful death.

“She was severely beaten,” testified Samantha Chandler, a civilian investigator with Grand Prairie Police. Her life was marked by violence and the massive failure of those tasked with keeping her safe: CPS, her mother and the man she moved into their home.

Sgt. Makovy also testified, “That’s when she explains how Charles grabs her by the throat, picks her up, pushes her into the wall and begins to admonish her about throwing up, then throws her into the closet and closes the door.

According to testimony from both Quezada and Carr, the family went out to dinner and left Phifer at home to watch Leiliana. Quezada returned home and testified that she and Phifer used heroin before she inquired about her daughter.

According to police testimony, that’s when Phifer told her “that the child had been hung in the closet.”

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Day three of testimony is underway in the trial of a man accused of beating his girlfriend’s young daughter to death — because the child drank her brother’s fruit juice.

Charles Wayne Phifer, 36, is charged with capital murder, accused of killing Leiliana Wright in 2016.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner is expected to testify in the trial today.

Three witnesses had taken the stand by lunchtime Friday. Forensic analyst Kristen Smith testified first and was asked about the crime scene investigation — Leiliana’s DNA was found on a cracked wall.

The 4-year-old’s mother, Jeri Quezada, testified Phifer, her former boyfriend, threw the little girl against the wall.

FBI Special Agent and digital forensic examiner Thomas Tedder told jurors about deleted phone messages found on Quezada’ phone.

Quezada pleaded guilty to felony injury to a child charges last year and will spend 50 years behind bars. As part of that plea deal, she agreed to testify against Phifer. During the investigation, she told Grand Prairie police that she had been abusive as well.

The State is expected to rest it’s case today. Defense attorneys are expected to begin presenting their case this afternoon.

If convicted Phifer will receive an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole.

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Dallas County jurors will hear closing arguments Monday and begin deliberating the fate of Charles Wayne Phifer.

Charles Wayne Phifer (credit: CBS11)

He’s accused of capital murder in the beating death of his girlfriend’s daughter, Leiliana Wright.

Leiliana Wright (credit: Alisa & Craig Clakley)

The March 2016 death especially touched North Texans and enraged others when news spread that the little girl’s paternal grandparents had warned CPS that she was in danger.

Testimony in the case concluded Thursday with gruesome autopsy photos that documented how the 4-year-old suffered before enduring the fatal blows.

“You can beat anybody to death,” concluded Tarrant County Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Marc Krouse.

Dr. Krouse performed the autopsy on Leiliana and left the witness stand to stand near the jury box while showing the photos, and explaining what they revealed.

The child’s body was covered from head to foot in bruises, abrasions and whip marks, some of them inflicted before the night she died.

The jury saw photos of the ligature marks on both wrists and according to earlier testimony, Leiliana had been beaten and tied up in a dark closet while her mother, Jeri Quezada had gone out for a steak dinner with family.

Jeri Quezada (CBS11)

Leiliana had been left in the car of Phifer, Quezada’s boyfriend, because she had been throwing up.

Although the community, and the jurors have known that Leiliana was beaten to death, there was something decidedly different about viewing the visual evidence of how horribly she suffered.

Dr. Krouse would ultimately tell jurors the child died of “blunt force trauma” to her head and abdomen.

According to the medical examiner’s report, Leiliana Wright was hit or kicked so hard that her belly wall slammed into her spine.

Jurors could be seen wiping away tears. Others grimaced. One wore a dark scowl and several lowered their eyes.

“Was there intent to kill? I don’t know,” testified Dr. Krouse, “An intent to injure? I have very good evidence that there was. Did the injuries cause the death? No question. That’s a homicide in our book.”

Phifer is facing the possibility of life in prison without parole if convicted.

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – The man accused in the beating death of his girlfriend’s daughter in March 2016, has been found guilty of capital murder.

Charles Wayne Phifer was sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing 4-year-old Leiliana Wright.

Charles Wayne Phifer (credit: CBSDFW.COM)

“I don’t think life in prison is worth it. I think he should have the death penalty,” said Brian Maker, Leiliana’s father after the sentencing. “I’m not getting my daughter back.  I won’t ever get to walk my daughter down the aisle.”

The judge presiding over the case said, “This is the worst case that I’ve ever seen. What you did was unfathomable, inhuman and savage. Life in prison seems insufficient.. hanging a little girl in closet is savage.. you should die in a locked closet.”

“It was my privilege to support the team of professionals who came together to seek justice for Leiliana,” said Assistant District Attorney Eren Price. “This is not a story about drugs. This is a story about a little girl who didn’t deserve this. She was an innocent victim.”

Leiliana’s mother, Jeri Quezada will be sentenced to 50 years in prison for pleading guilty to felony injury to a child as part of her plea bargain. 

Jeri Quezada (CBS11)

Testimony in the trial ended last Thursday with gruesome autopsy photos that documented how the 4-year-old suffered before enduring the fatal blows.

“You can beat anybody to death,” concluded Tarrant County Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Marc Krouse.

Dr. Krouse performed the autopsy on the child and left the witness stand to stand near the jury box while showing the photos, and explaining what they revealed.

The child’s body was covered from head to foot in bruises, abrasions and whip marks, some of them inflicted before the night she died.

Leiliana Wright (courtesy: Alisa and Craig Clakley)

The jury saw photos of the ligature marks on both wrists and according to earlier testimony, Leiliana had been beaten and tied up in a dark closet while her mother, Jeri Quezada had gone out for a steak dinner with family.

According to the medical examiner’s report, Leiliana was hit or kicked so hard that her belly wall slammed into her spine.

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Prosecutors say it was a complicated murder-for-hire plot and today the trial for a man accused of killing a Dallas dentist got underway.

Kristopher Love is charged with Capital Murder, accused in the death of Kendra Hatcher — a pediatric dentist who was shot and killed in an Uptown parking garage in 2015.

Prosecutors began presenting their case Monday morning and the first person to take the stand was Hatcher’s still grieving mother. A box of tissue was nearby and through her tears she told jurors about her daughter.

Prosecutors say Hatcher’s death was the result of a love triangle gone wrong. The class salutatorian, who went on mission trips and loved kids, had met a man that she wanted to take home to meet her family… but that would never happen.

Lawyers told jurors that Love was the gunman in a three-person conspiracy to kill Hatcher. The plot came to light after officers arrested Crystal Cortes, who investigators say admitted to driving the parking garage getaway vehicle. Cortes later told detectives her friend Brenda Delgado, who was the ex-girlfriend of Hatcher’s boyfriend, planned the murder.

(credit: Dallas County Jail)

Prosecutor Kevin Brooks said in court Monday that he would prove his case against Kristopher Love with witness testimony, forensic evidence, and the defendant’s own words.

A criminal background search found a lengthy history for Love in Tennessee — including charges of burglary and aggravated robbery. If convicted of Hatcher’s death, he could face the death penalty.

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A mother’s tears mark day one of testimony in a murder for hire plot that left a Dallas dentist dead.

Prosecutors say Dr. Kendra Hatcher’s new boyfriend had an obsessive ex, Brenda Delgado. She is accused of hiring the gunman, Kristopher Love. Love is facing the death penalty is convicted. But, before prosecutors laid out how the crime was committed.

(credit: Dallas County Sheriff’s Department)

Prosecutor Kevin Brooks made certain that jurors remained focused on who was lost.

“I’ve always said in the past that I have children who wore halos on their heads,” said Dr. Hatcher’s mother, Bonnie Jameson. But, clearly Jameson’s heart was broken in September of 2015, when Hatcher earned her wings, too soon.

Jurors wiped away tears along with Jameson as she talked about how she learned that her daughter, the pediatric dentist, was killed.

Dr. Kendra Hatcher (photo courtesy: Facebook)

“No, no, not Kendra!” she recalled for jurors. “What do you mean she’s shot? And Jamie said, ‘she didn’t make it.’ ” Jameson told jurors that the family was “devastated” by the loss, also sharing that Hatcher had planned to bring her new love interest home to the Plains, Illinois, area to meet the family later that fall. Fall, she told jurors, was her daughter’s favorite time of year. But, her new love interest’s ex, had different ideas: all of them evil.

“She wanted me to beat her to death with a bat,” testified a cousin Moses Martinez. Martinez told jurors that he tried to warn family members that Delgado was trying to have her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend killed but, he wasn’t believed.

Prosecutor Kevin Brooks told jurors that after shopping around for a killer, Delgado struck a deal with Kristopher Love, agreeing to pay him in cash and drugs for eliminating the stranger that she viewed as a rival.

(credit: Dallas County Jail)

Jurors also heard from Dr. Ricardo Paniagua, Hatcher’s new love interest who was waiting in her apartment while she was being ambushed in the parking garage below. Dr. Paniagua told jurors that he had noticed Delgado “popping up” as places where he was jogging or having dinner, but dismissed the incidents as “coincidence”, not realizing that Delgado was dangerous, until it was too late.

“I kept asking repeatedly, ‘is Kendra okay? I became even more specific, I said: is she still alive?’ ” recalled Dr. Paniagua when bracing for the explanation of why Hatcher wasn’t responding to his texts.

Love is facing the death penalty if convicted. Delgado is slated to go on trial next year; but, will not face the death penalty because of an extradition arrangement with Mexico.

Testimony resumes Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. in the 363rd District Court before Judge Tracy Holmes.

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – The chilling blow by blow of a murder for hire. Testimony from an admitted accomplice dominates day two of testimony in the trial of a man accused of murdering Dallas dentist Kendra Hatcher in exchange for drugs and cash.

Kristopher Love is facing the death penalty if convicted in the September 2015 ambush killing.

Crystal Cortes, 26, admitted to jurors that she was an integral part of the plan to kill Dr. Hatcher after Brenda Delgado, the obsessive ex of Hatcher’s new boyfriend, began shopping for someone willing to carry out the murder.

Prosecutor Kevin Brooks asked Cortes when they began planning. She replied, “Two weeks after I met Brenda, we started planning for the murder.”

For two hours, without emotion and without apparent remorse, Cortes told jurors about how she, Delgado, and sometimes Love used different vehicles to follow Dr. Hatcher between her work and home while considering different options to kill her.

“Inject her with a needle,” testified Cortes, “another plan was to shoot her directly, and another plan was to kidnap her.” And then Cortes told jurors that Love weighed in on the murderous plot, adding “He pretty much said that it would be easier to just kill her, with the gun.”

Prosecutor Brooks asked if there was ever a plan for the attack to just be a robbery? Cortes replied, “No… it was planned to be a murder to look like a robbery gone bad.”

Cortes told jurors that Delgado still shared a cell phone account with her ex, Dr. Ricardo Paniagua, so she was able to keep up with his whereabouts.

“She tracked Rickey on his Iphone,” Cortes testified, “she would find him on the FindMe App. That’s how she knew where Kendra lived. She would follow Ricky that way.”

Then on the evening of September 2, 2015, Cortes says she and Love followed another vehicle into Dr. Hatcher’s Uptown area parking garage and waited for her to arrive.

“When I heard the shots fired, I knew he had killed Kendra Hatcher and that’s when I backed out.”

Cortes told jurors that with Love hiding in the backseat, she drove to an abandoned house in Pleasant Grove where they used disinfectant wipes to clean up the borrowed black Jeep later shown on surveillance video around the country.

She testified that she dropped Love back off at his apartment, and then picked up her son who was being watched by her grandmother before going to meet up with Brenda Delgado. She would later take a selfie of the $500 she was paid for participating in the murder… and she turned the cash into a heart shape in her hand.

Cortes is, by her own admission, a cold blooded killer. She is also, defense attorneys say, a pathological liar.

“In fact,” asked defense attorney Paul Johnson, “you’ve never told the same story twice!”

“That’s correct,” replied Cortes.

Johnson has suggested to jurors that Cortes’ testimony isn’t credible because she is trying to save her own life. On cross examination he asked her if she “became afraid that you were going to be facing the maximum penalty for this crime… is that correct?” Cortes replied “Yes,sir.”

In exchange for her testimony, Cortes pleaded guilty and will receive a 35 year prison sentence after testifying against Brenda Delgado sometime next year.

Delgado is also charged with capital murder; but, will not face the death penalty because of an extradition arrangement with Mexico. She fled there after police questioned her shortly after the murder.

Testimony resumes Wednesday morning at 8:30 in the 363rd District Court before Judge Tracy Holmes.

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – The sentencing phase of the trial for the gunman who killed Dallas dentist Kendra Hatcher begins this morning.

A jury convicted Kristopher Love for his role in the 2015 murder-for-hire plot, and their next task is to decide his punishment.

(credit: Dallas County Jail)

Prosecutors will try to argue that Love should face the death penalty, but the jury will also consider a punishment of life in prison.  The trial resumes at 9 a.m. Monday.

Last Thursday it took the jury less than three hours to convict Love of Capital Murder. They agreed that Love shot and killed Hatcher as she got out of her vehicle in the parking garage at the Gables Park 17 high-rise apartment building.

Pictured (L) Brenda Delgado, (R) Kendra Hatcher.

Love was hired by Brenda Delgado, the ex-girlfriend of the man hatcher was dating. Police say Delgado was jealous, and ordered the hit to get Hatcher out of the way.

During trial testimony, the jury heard from Crystal Cortez – the woman who drove the getaway car. She testified against Love to avoid the death penalty, in exchange for a 35 year prison sentence.

Delgado remains jailed and will face her own trial next year.

* Stay with CBS 11 News on air and online for updates on Love’s sentencing.

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Gut wrenching testimony in the punishment phase of Kristopher Love’s capital murder trial.

The jury heard from the family of the Dallas dentist who was killed in a murder-for-hire plot.

The state presented five witnesses on Monday.

To convince a jury to agree on a death sentence, prosecutors have to show that Kristopher Love is a remorseless soul and a continuing threat to society.

Dallas County prosecutors portrayed Kristopher Love as a career criminal.

Kristopher Love (CBS11)

They revealed text messages showing he went right back to drug dealing and sex trafficking only days after being hired to commit murder.

That murder of Dallas Dentist Kendra Hatcher was in 2015.

Love was convicted of capital murder last week.

Witnesses testified he was hired by the jealous ex-girlfriend of Hatcher’s boyfriend to kill her and stage it as a robbery in the victim’s uptown apartment building.

Monday, police officers from Tennessee and Texas testified about the 34-year-old’s violent criminal record that goes back 15 years.

Prosecutors also revealed some of Love’s tattoos including one with the message life or death surrounded by money signs they said suggest he would kill for money.

Evidence showed the convicted killer was paid $500 to commit the crime and was planning to use it to expand his prostitution business.

The sister of Kendra Hatcher testified about the gut wrenching pain her family still feels three years later over losing her.

“She was full of life and full of love and she just gave everything she had to everybody and when I heard that this had happened and I know I’m getting off topic, I couldn’t imagine who would do it,” said Ashley Turner, Hatcher’s sister. “I couldn’t imagine who would hurt her because nobody disliked her nobody could’ve hurt her who knew her.”

(credit: Family of Kendra Hatcher)

If the jury decides on a death penalty it will be the first in Dallas County since 2013.

The state is expected to rest its case Tuesday morning.