http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/16633371.htm

Tue, Feb. 06, 2007

Couple's slaying might have been mistaken ID
By BILL MILLER
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

Police believe that a case of mistaken identity may have led to the slayings of a Duncanville couple whose bodies were found late last week below a Trinity River bridge in southeast Dallas County.

Meanwhile, one of three people suspected in connection with the case was being held Monday at a Dallas County jail, and a second person was in a California jail awaiting extradition to Dallas. A third man remained at large.

The men in custody face capital murder charges in the deaths of Luis Campos, 20, and Linoshka Torres, 18, whose unclothed bodies were found under a bridge east of Interstates 20 and 45.

Authorities say they believe that the pair were killed Jan. 6, the day they disappeared, and that they died of blunt force injuries. The victims were expecting their first baby in April.

Senior Cpl. Jamie Kimbrough, a police spokeswoman, said investigators suspect that the couple might have been mistaken for others, although she could not confirm reports that the killings were retribution for a suspected theft.

Sgt. Gary Kirkpatrick of the Dallas police homicide unit declined to give further details. He said, however, that the suspects were identified through a painstaking investigation.

"It didn't come easy," Kirkpatrick said. "We canvassed neighborhoods and got pieces of information that led to others, and eventually it all came together."

Frank Estrella, 21, who was arrested Sunday at his mother's home in Anaheim, Calif., was being held Monday with bail set at $1 million.

Another man, Jorge Guzman Banda, 51, was already being held at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center, according to jail records. His bail was also set at $1 million.

Banda was also being held on federal immigration charges because he has been identified as an illegal immigrant, said Deputy Michael Ortiz, a spokesman for the Dallas County Sheriff's Department.

Police are asking the public to help find Nicolas Monarrez, 30.

Monarrez is a Mexican citizen and may have fled across the border.

Schepps Dairy has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

This article includes material from The Associated Press