Texas Pastor Paid $1,300 to Kill his Wife

[Ezekiel Bathfire]

As you read the following, bear in mind this verse.

De:17:12: And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — A Texas pastor charged in the shooting death of his wife paid two men $1,300 to kill the third-grade teacher after telling an alleged middleman that "someone was in his way," authorities said in court documents released Monday.

Julio Cesar Perez, 40, who leads a small-town church called Manantial de Vida in San Benito, was charged with capital murder and remained in Cameron County jail without bond. He has not yet entered a plea. The jail had no attorney information listed for Perez, and public records didn't list a phone number at the family's home in San Benito.

One of the two men Perez allegedly hired, a church member, also was arrested and charged with capital murder, authorities said. The second man was being sought.

Sonia Perez, the pastor's wife, was found dead Thursday in her van with a bullet hole in her head, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Harlingen television station KGBT. An officer found the 39-year-old teacher with the car still shifted into drive and her foot on the brake pedal.

Two days later, a woman told investigators that Julio Cesar Perez had asked her three weeks earlier about two men she hired in the past to beat and rob someone, according to the affidavit. The woman, whose name is redacted in the affidavit, said she put the pastor in touch with a man who authorities say found the person to kill Sonia Perez.

According to the affidavit, Perez told investigators he did not have any marital problems and didn't know anyone who would want to hurt his wife. He told them he called his wife's principal to ask about her whereabouts after she didn't pick up their oldest daughter from school.

"They never had any problems, they were always happy, always showing each other love, supporting each other and always together at church," Bertha Trevino, a teacher at Perez's church, told KGBT.

Perez was arrested Sunday. Gabriel Apolinar Escalante, 20, was also arrested and charged with capital murder. He was also being held without bond, and has not entered a plea. The jail had no information about whether he had an attorney yet.

"When Gabriel came back home, he stated the pastor was having a situation with his wife," the three-page affidavit reads. "Gabriel stated the pastor wanted him to take care of the problem."

San Benito is about 20 miles north of Brownsville along the border.

Is it not obvious that the Pastor had told his wife how she should behave and yet she defied him?

In view of God's Word, I think that the prosecution will have a hard time making a case here.

[Bob4God]

Re: Texas Pastor Paid $1,300 to Kill his Wife

That seems like an awful lot of money just to have his wife killed.

Of course I am not condoning anything illegal, but as a GODly Republican Christian and owner of a gun store, I support replacing secular law with the Bible so that the little guy can save money and do things the way GOD wants them done without fear of prosecution and imprisonment.

[Born Again Bob]

Re: Texas Pastor Paid $1,300 to Kill his Wife

Dear Friends,

Sad how the institution of marriage is being eroded by so-called gay marriage. Do you think Ozzie would ever have taken a contract out on Harriet? No. Marriage meant something then. Nowadays, your "wife" can have a hairier back than you do. Sodomy is just murder with a penis.

Yours in Him,
BAB

[HTannor]

Re: Texas Pastor Paid $1,300 to Kill his Wife

That seems like an awful lot of money just to have his wife killed.

Exactly, Brother.

Many's the time Brother James Hutchins has mentioned former wives unfortunately falling down a well on his property. Now, I'm not saying there was anything suspicious about the untimely demise of those parties, but there certainly wasn't any mention of money exchanging hands.