A Kyle woman who authorities say killed her five-year-old daughter in 2017 has been sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Krystle Villanueva, 27, was arrested on January 5, 207 after police were called to her home.
Villanueva’s father-in-law called 911 to say that he had been stabbed in the back of the head before he was able to run away.
He also told police that Villanueva’s five-year-old daughter was with her inside of the home.
SWAT teams and crisis negotiators immediately responded to the scene to deal with the potential hostage situation.
Later 911 received a call from Villanueva. She told the 911 operator that she had killed her daughter because “she asked for cereal,” and admitted to stabbing her father-in-law.
SWAT members on the scene immediately broke into the home once they learned that a child had been injured or killed.
Villanueva was found in the nude in the front room of the home and it appeared that she had just showered. She was then taken into custody.
SWAT members began searching the home and found the body of the 5-year-old girl. Authorities say that the girl had been stabbed to death and decapitated.
A blood test revealed the presence of alcohol and marijuana in Villanueva’s system.
The defense team for Villanueva conceded that she had killed her daughter and attacked her father-in-law but asked the jury to find her not guilty by reason of insanity.
According to a release, Villanueva claimed that she had been under the delusional belief that “her daughter and her father-in-law had been replaced by clones and had to be killed to bring back her real family members.”
On Thursday the jury found Villanueva guilty of the crime and rejected the insanity defense. Villanueva was then sentenced to life without parole for the murder of her daughter and 20 years in prison for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
“A case like this leaves an unforgettable mark on everyone involved, especially the child’s family.” said Hays County Criminal District Attorney Wes Mau.
“Every law enforcement member who worked on this case will forever be traumatized by what Ms. Villanueva did to her innocent daughter. I commend all the investigators and officers who endured this horror with calm professionalism so that justice could be done.”
