Mother of baby found dead in Hondo 19 years ago arrested, charged with capital murder

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — The Medina County Sheriff’s Office is keeping a promise made 19 years ago.

In a Tuesday release, Sheriff Randy Brown confirmed the arrest of the biological mother of a baby found dead on the side of the road in Hondo on September 20, 2004.

Sheriff Brown offered the following statement after a charge of capital murder was filed against Maricela V. Frausto, 44, of Hondo on Monday night:

“The day this sweet little perfect baby girl was discovered , she was etched in the hearts and minds of all the Officers  involved and soon after the community.

That night on that county road, she was named, “Baby Hope” with “Hope” and a prayer that we would find who was responsible for this horrible, horrible crime.

A promise was made that day to never forget and to never give up.

Since that day, that promise was never broken.

Many hands have touched this case, all with one goal, to know why and who was responsible for dumping this beautiful little girl on the side of a county road. The days, the months, the years, and all the hours spent on this case do not equal the amount of love and compassion the community poured out for Baby Hope Medina.”

Tuesday marks 19 years, 2 months and 1 day since Baby Hope was found by a rancher on County Road 448, just north of Hondo.

Frausto was arrested after a grand jury returned a true bill of indictment for the offense of capital murder. Bond has been set at $1 million with an added condition of GPS monitoring.

This is a developing story and KTSA News will give more details when possible.