Two Bexar County cold cases solved with DNA evidence

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — Two Bexar County cold cases are now closed, and one man is headed to prison for life.

A Texas Department of Public Safety release shows José Baldomero Flores III pleaded guilty to killing two women more than a decade ago on Monday.

Heather Willms was found dead in her apartment in February 2005, and police say her body had been burned to destroy evidence. Flores was a suspect in that case, but despite his DNA being found on Willms’ body, the case stalled and he was never charged.

On March 2011, Esmeralda Herrera was found dead in her apartment, and her body also burned. Flores was arrested for her murder, but the prosecution decided there was not sufficient evidence to move forward in court.

Both cases were cold until 2015, when the Texas Ranger Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program put new focus on the Willms case. While working with Texas Department of Public Safety laboratory personnel, more DNA evidence emerged that resulted in the arrest of Flores in 2016 for the murders of both women.

Numerous law enforcement agencies, including police departments in San Antonio and Leon Valley, participated in the investigation.

Former Bexar County Assistant DA Michael Hoyle was appointed as a Special Prosecutor for the cases in 2019.