Things were violent between them. Both had filed assault charges against each other earlier in the year, and Isabel had recently obtained a restraining order against Jesus because he threatened to kill her if she got any money in the divorce. Jesus was furious when served with the order.

On the day Isabel disappeared, witnesses saw a man (possibly Jesus) hiding near her car. Phone records also put Jesus at her home, breaking the restraining order. He later claimed she’d run away, stealing from his business.

Police found suspicious evidence: Jesus pressure-washed his car shortly after Isabel vanished, and the trunk smelled of decaying flesh. When police searched his farm, they found that he’d recently spread tons of dirt and gravel over the land. A large fire was also reported on his farm that day. Despite extensive searches, Isabel’s body was never found.

Jesus was arrested and tried three times for her murder. The first two trials ended in mistrials due to witness tampering and an alleged attempt to hire someone to kill the prosecutor. He was ultimately convicted in the third trial in 2007. While his lawyers claimed she might have gone to Honduras, there was no evidence to support this. Several fellow inmates testified that Jesus confessed to killing her with a baseball bat. He was sentenced to life in prison plus additional time for other charges. Although her body was never found, the circumstances strongly suggest that Jesus murdered Isabel.