EDINBURG, Texas (AP) — A South Texas man must serve life in prison without parole for killing his common-law wife and her 12-year-old sister in a fight over his drug use.
A judge in Edinburg on Wednesday accepted the guilty plea from 24-year-old Raul Garza of Weslaco.
Garza pleaded guilty to capital murder of multiple persons in the May attack. The plea deal means Garza avoids a possible death penalty.
The victims were Veronica Serrano Rivera and her little sister, Elisa Rivera. The girl allegedly was raped during the deadly attack.
Deputies on May 6 found the bodies at Garza's home after his 5- and 6-year-old daughters were wandering nearby and one told a passer-by: "My mother is dead."
Authorities have said the argument that led to the killings was over Garza's cocaine abuse.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
