21-year-old immigrant convicted in beating death of former Pearland classmate

By Carol Christian, Chron.com / Houston Chronicle

A 21-year-old man has been found guilty in the 2010 slaying of a Pearland teen.

A Brazoria County jury on Monday convicted Hermilo Moralez, who was charged with murder in the beating death of his missing classmate, Josh Wilkerson. The trial began after jury selection Jan. 16 in the 300th State District Court.

The punishment, or sentencing, phase of Moralez' trial started Monday afternoon, officials with the Brazoria County District Attorney's Office said.

Wilkerson's partially burned remains were discovered in a Fort Bend County field, where his body had been dumped with his hands and feet bound.

The week before Thanksgiving 2010, Wilkerson disappeared after leaving the campus of PACE Center, Pearland school district's alternative high school.

His parents notified police later that evening when they found his truck in a strip mall parking lot. After an extensive search by authorities and volunteers, the teen's body was found the next day across the county line.

In November 2011, Moralez, a Belize national, was transferred to a state mental hospital after it was determined that he was not competent to stand trial.

At a hearing last year, jurors heard from two psychiatrists who testified that Moralez was well enough to go through the judicial proceeding.

Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne tried the case against Moralez.

Authorities said Moralez, then 19, admitted beating Wilkerson to death with a wooden rod. At the time of his arrest, he did not have legal status in this country, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

 21-year-old immigrant convicted in beating death of former...