Suspect arrested after being accused of shooting his girlfriend

A man is in police custody after being accused of shooting his girlfriend during an argument near downtown Houston.

Francisco Ochoa, 19, was initially charged with manslaughter, but Judge Frank Aguilar signed an arrest warrant for Ochoa on September 18 for murder.

According to charging documents, Ochoa took 24-year-old Joselyn Espinoza to St. Joseph Hospital in downtown Houston after she suffered a gunshot wound to the head. She was taken to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 9:15 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15.

The shooting occurred at approximately 1:30 a.m. on September 15. Surveillance footage from a Palace Inn motel showed a green Chevrolet Silverado parked on the west side of the building.

After the truck was parked, a man – believed to be Ochoa – was seen getting out and aggressively trying to open the passenger door, which was locked. Ochoa went back to the driver's side of the truck, but Espinoza, the passenger in the vehicle, tried to lock the door to prevent him from getting in.

At that point, the man began hitting the driver's side window with a handgun. He shattered the glass by hitting it with the gun, but the gun went off and presumably struck Espinoza in the head. After the gun was fired, Ochoa walked back to the passenger side and opened the door, and Espinoza's body fell into his arms. He pushed her body back into the car, got back in, and left the scene.

Investigators tried to speak with Ochoa, but he refused to answer questions or consent to a search of his truck. Authorities also said Ochoa initially gave patrol officers two different statements about the shooting that contradicted each other.

Officers seized Ochoa's truck and took it to the Houston Forensic Science Center, where they obtained a search warrant. After obtaining the search warrant, they found blood in the truck. The driver's side window was also broken.

Investigators also spoke to Espinoza's mother and aunt, who said Joselyn had been dating a man named “Francisco” for several months.

Shortly after Houton police announced that Ochoa was wanted in connection with the Sept. 20 crime, he was arrested. He is currently being held at the Harris County Sheriff's Office Inmate Processing Center.