Thread: TX Man Accused Of Killing College Student Pleads Not Guilty

Man Accused Of Killing College Student Pleads Not Guilty

POSTED: 7:37 pm CDT May 30, 2008
UPDATED: 7:52 pm CDT May 30, 2008

DALLAS -- A man accused of killing a Dallas-area college student pleaded not guilty during his arraignment in Dallas Friday, NBC 5 reported.

Ernesto Reyes is charged with capital murder in connection with the death of Melanie Goodwin. Police said Goodwin, a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of North Texas and graduate of Bowie High School in Arlington, was found dead behind an office building in Carrollton in September of 2007. Police said she suffered blunt force trauma and her body had been set on fire.

Surveillance video showed Reyes talking to Goodwin the night she was killed and days later he fled to Mexico, authorities said.

He was recently extradited back to North Texas. Mexico agreed to extradite Reyes on the condition that he would not face the death penalty, the Dallas County District Attorney's Office said.

Goodwin's family said the arraignment means closure is near, but said justice may never come.

"Is this justice? No, I don't think there could ever be justice for what happened to Melanie," Matthew Bobo, the family spokesperson said. "But is this the process that we have in place? It absolutely is and it's one that the family is going to walk through."

Breif Video on this page:

http://www.nbc5i.com/news/16441425/detail.html

The mexican government wants "life" for their citizen so he can send back his "jail" wages!