Snapped: Women Who Murder - Brenda Delgado

Episode Date: September 8, 2024

Dallas detectives are led on an international manhunt after a young dentist is shot to death at her apartment complex, leaving a trail of surveillance evidence and a deep conspiracy of lies.Season 29 Episode 17Originally aired: August 1, 2021Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hello, I'm Dax Shepard. And I'm Monica Padman. Monica and I do three weekly shows with celebrities on Monday, experts on Wednesdays, and crazy stories from listeners on Fridays. We're so excited to officially be a part of the Wondry Network. So follow Armchair Expert on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to Armchair Expert on YouTube. If you're looking for a new football podcast to keep up with the latest action from the

NFL and college football this season, tune into the Offensive Line, hosted by yours truly, Annie Agar. We talk more than your fantasy group chat, so buckle up and join me for a good laugh all season long. Watch the Offensive Line on YouTube and listen on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts. She was a beloved pediatric dentist who had just met the love of her life. She found someone finally that she can really enjoy and connect with.

They had already started putting money away for a wedding fund. But their future together is ripped apart in a hail of gunfire. I heard a loud noise and a goat screaming. He saw this horrific scene, a young woman on the ground with this pool of blood. Investigators track down an array of suspects, and each one has a vastly different tale to tell. I didn't expect this girl to get shot. I really didn't.

She had paid a cartel day money. This is a picture of the unladen and that kid. I've never seen her. I was like, what did you do? I was like, I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go. She had to pay the cartel their money. This is a picture of the young lady that got killed. I've never seen her. I was like, what did you do? And he was like, shut up or I'll kill you.

Within days, the homicide investigation escalates to a hunt for an international fugitive. I won't discuss or speculate as to where she might be. She pushed buttons to get what she needed to get done without getting her hands dirty. I know I'm going to jail. I might as well go to it. She did everything she could to keep him engaged.

She could not be tossed aside. September 2, 2015. It's a quiet evening in uptown Dallas as two friends leave Gable 17, a luxury apartment complex. It's kind of the hip spot of the central business district of Dallas. And it's new, clean, neat, nice. Walk around, you are totally safe. I was with my friend and, you know, normal day we were going to tow our car in the garage. But suddenly, the pair hears a terrifying commotion echo through the parking garage. You just heard screaming.

It was pure fear. And then I just heard, pop, pop. Right when we heard that, we just ran straight to our car, because we didn't know what that was. And then I heard the screeching of the car immediately. I was just looking in my rear view mirror and just saw the Jeep Cherokee. I wait for him to go and then just go right after him.

And we just took that first opportunity basically to leave. When he backed out, the Jeep Cherokee had gone the wrong way down the garage. There wasn't another exit, so the Jeep Cherokee had to turn around, was now behind him. As I was going out of the ramp, you know, I could see her body. I just knew she had passed at the time just because of how

she was on the ground. So that's why we just kept going. Everything was just very quick. I think it's just almost because it was shock. He pulled over, called 911, told him what he knew. 911, where's emergency? Hi, someone just got shot in the parking lot of the Gables Park, F-17 in P-1.

Okay, did you see someone that was shot? I saw her laying on the floor, and it was like blood coming out of her neck. Then that prompted the police to arrive. As they were doing CPR, the professionals noticed that it wasn't doing any good, so they stopped. There was no way to save this person. With first responders unable to save her, police survey the scene for any indicator of the victim's identity. The victim was laying on the ground next to this white Toyota Camry.

We were able to determine that the owner of the Camry was Dr. Kendra Hatcher. After pulling a photograph of Dr. Hatcher from her driver's license, we were able to confirm that she was the individual that was deceased. At this point in the investigation, Dallas Homicide's primary objective

is to get more information about who our victim is, why she was murdered, and find out who's responsible. Illinois native Kendra Hatcher was known for her stunning good looks, intelligence, and heart of gold. Kendra, a very beautiful person, inside and out. She was always smiling and very, very, you know, approachable. She was such a good person with an amazing heart.

You know, she had that compassion, that love, and just caring for people. The Midwest beauty had attended DePauw University, where she had discovered her true passion. Dr. Kendra Hatcher did pediatric dentistry of children. She just had that connection with the young kids, and she just enjoyed working with them. In early 2015, the 35-year-old landed a job in Dallas at a pediatric dental office focused on community outreach. Dr. Hatcher worked for a practice that I knew the practice owner. Where their practice was at was a lower socioeconomic area, and their sole vision, their purpose was to take care of this community and take care of these patients.

As Kendra's career flourished, her love life did too. In May of 2015, she fell for a handsome young doctor. Ricky Paniagua was living in Dallas, finishing up a dermatology residency, had grown up in a working class family in California, and then really had the world at his feet. She found someone finally that she can really enjoy and connect with. They'd only been seeing each other three or four months but they were ready to take next steps. They had already started putting money away for a wedding fund. She was excited and I was happy for her

because it's like she deserves someone, you know, in her life, because she's a wonderful person. In September of 2015, the happy couple planned a trip to Cancun for Labor Day. But their beach getaway would never come to be. It's like you're about to have the time of your life for the first time and taken away from you in a span of a millisecond. Sadly, instead of packing for her Mexico vacation, Dr. Kendra Hatcher lies lifeless

in the garage of her upscale Dallas apartment complex while authorities inspect the scene. We were able to examine the back of her head and found that the entry wound came from the upper part of the head and exited through the chin. Gunshot residue was found on the back of the hands, indicating that Miss Hatcher may have had her hands up and behind her head at the time she was shot. At that point, we believe that she was shot by the shooter standing over the victim,

and they executed her. Detectives find the victim's phone lying next to her, along with evidence of the murder weapon. I noticed that there was a round that had actually hit the victim, and it pancaked after it hit the concrete. Also, there was a magazine from a handgun laying next to the victim as well. The pistol magazine laying on the floor is rather unusual. That would indicate to me that the shooter was nervous, in a rush, and hit the release on the gun, and that magazine popped out while he was fleeing the scene.

Unfortunately, no prints were found on that magazine. As investigators take inventory of the victims' possessions, there is something notably missing. We were unable to find a purse that belonged to Dr. Hatcher. It raised a red flag. Though a missing purse at a crime scene could indicate a mugging, the garage's intense security measures suggest something more calculated.

One of the first things that I did was just look at the setup on the parking garage and it had a lot of security features there. There was multiple surveillance cameras and there was a physical wrought iron fence. It wasn't accessible to the public and the only way to gain interest into this parking garage was to have a key file.

This is a very affluent neighborhood, so Dr. Hatcher being murdered just didn't make sense. Who would want to do something like this to Kendra? Coming up, a prominent figure in Kendra's life appears on the scene. I was there when he walked into the lobby. Now I'm getting scared, actually. And a tip comes in that has detectives

scratching their heads. It's not every day somebody walks into a police station saying, hey, yes, my car was used in a murder. MUSIC September 2, 2015. Dallas detectives are investigating the shooting death of pediatric dentist Kendra Hatcher. It appeared as though Kendra Hatcher.

It appeared as though Dr. Hatcher had been exiting her vehicle, was approached by a suspect and blindsided, put her hands up and behind her head. The gun was fired, she went down to the ground and that's how we found her. Detectives ask building management to pull surveillance tapes from the garage, hoping to spot the shooter.

As they work to secure the tapes, Kendra's boyfriend, Ricky Peniagua, approaches apartment staff, inquiring about Kendra's whereabouts. I was there when Ricardo walked into the lobby. I introduced myself and asked him if I could speak with him for a second. At that point, I notified him that Kendra had passed away.

Ricky appears devastated by the news. There were several moments where he just kind of seemed to linger in the situation, not really knowing what to say. Although Ricky's reaction seems genuine, detectives proceed with scrutiny. So at that initial stage, he was one of the first people that we had to either move forward with as a suspect

or either rule him out. Detectives ask Ricky to walk them through the hours leading up to the murder. He says he and Kendra had plans to meet up at Kendra's apartment after work. So you know, I text her and I basically say that, you know, I'm here, I'm at your apartment. She was texting me and saying that she's on her way. I text her and I say that I'm getting hungry. I'm gonna go get some food. Just text me when you get home. Ricky says when he returned to the apartments,

he began to fear the worst. I mean, there were three or four cop cars. The police rope was up. And now for me, now I'm getting scared actually. You know, calling again, you know, text messaging to say, you know, are you okay? I kept seeing that it just like my, it just wasn't going through. Like it just wasn't going through. It just wasn't getting delivered. Ricky tells detectives the two had planned on leaving for Cancun the next morning.

I think it almost seemed surreal to him. They were unwinding, planning on going on this vacation. And now two homicide detectives are there to talk to you about your girlfriend being murdered. After taking Ricky's statement, detectives are there to talk to you about your girlfriend being murdered. After taking Ricky's statement, detectives receive the surveillance footage from the garage. And what the cameras picked up is disturbing. At approximately 7 15 p.m., our suspect vehicle, the black Jeep Grand Cherokee, they kind of follow one of the residents inside the parking garage, and they park.

Somewhere around 742, the victim, Kendra Hatcher, pulls into the parking garage, driving her white Toyota Camry. There was no doubt that that individual was waiting on Dr. Hatcher to get in the garage. As soon as she pulled in, he began making his move. The video shows a suspect exit the Jeep and walk out of frame toward Kendra's vehicle. We can see the shots are fired, and the driver of the vehicle puts the black Jeep into reverse.

As the silhouette walks back to the vehicle and gets into the passenger side, vehicle then goes the wrong way in the parking garage and they have to loop back around. Though detectives aren't able to clearly see the person who shot Kendra or a license plate for the Jeep, the cameras did capture a glimpse of the getaway driver. They were able to get a still photo,

and there you can clearly see that a woman is driving it. And we were only able to see one silhouette inside the vehicle, and we believe the shooter was laying down in the backseat of the vehicle as they were exited. The next day, detectives provide images to the media for help in identifying the getaway car and driver. So at this point we're asking for the public's assistance in identifying and locating both that vehicle and any occupants that may have been in that vehicle at the time. On September 4th, just two days after the shooting, their effort pays off. Jose Ortiz called 911 and wanted to report that he saw his black Jeep Cherokee on the

news. It was kind of strange. You know, it's not every day somebody walks into a police station saying, hey, yes, my car was used in a murder. That morning, Jose Ortiz comes in for an interview. Mr. Ortiz knew right away that it was his vehicle because there were special rims on it, and also part of the bumper trim was different. He was a little freaked out, and he wanted to clear his name.

Jose tells detectives that on September 2, he lent his Jeep to a friend, 33-year-old Brenda Delgado. Jose provided us the information that Brenda was the one that he gave his actual Jeep keys to, and she was the one that he gave his actual Jeep keys to, and she was the one that asked to borrow the Jeep. But Jose says Brenda couldn't have been the getaway driver or shooter in Kendra's murder. He told me he was out having dinner with Brenda

at a Chili's restaurant during the time that this offense was being committed. After he observed his Jeep on the news involved with his murder, he confronted Brenda about it. She said, well, you should leave the police alone. They might ask about your immigration status.

He had no involvement. She threatened him with being deported. She offered him to pay for his Jeep to get painted a different color. That was definitely a red flag. So that gave us every indicator that she has some information and she has something at stake to lose if he does come and talk. We decided we needed to talk to her as soon as possible. That same day, detectives track down Brenda

and bring her in for questioning. She had the demeanor of, oh, I want to help, and I have no idea what's going on. How did my name come up? OK, I'll explain all of that to you. Yes, yes, I want to know. One of the things that we try to do as a detective is get to know these people on an individual basis,

try to figure out what it is that makes Brenda Tick to know her as a person. This is a personal information sheet. It's a way for me to get to know you a little bit before we get into this. Okay? Okay. Brenda Delgado and her family came to the United States for the American dream. She is from a very nice family. She was born in Mexico, but came here legally, grew up in Dallas. Brenda was known for her quiet disposition.

It was just her personality. She just didn't have a lot of words. She wasn't very outgoing. She was very reserved. She was kind. She gave off a kind aura, very sweet and considerate. Brenda eventually found a passion in dentistry. She wanted to become a hygienist.

So it was extremely important to her. She was naturally intuitive. She was always wanting to get better. And she really worked well with all the other students and all the other instructors as well. In late summer of 2015, 33-year-old Brenda was in the midst of studying for her certification boards. She had a lot of potential. This was someone who knew exactly what she wanted to do, and she was willing to put the work in for it. But on September 4, 2015, this dental hygiene student

finds herself being questioned about her connection to a murder. Kendra Hatcher was killed on Wednesday, September 2. This is a picture of a young lady in back here. Never seen her before? I've never seen her. I wanted to talk to you a little bit specifically about Wednesday, what you were doing Wednesday. Brenda says she and her friend, Jose,

were at Chili's for multiple hours, and she has the evidence to prove it. You said you had the receipt in your bag? Yeah, yeah. I can show you. OK. Let's get that. Having a receipt readily available, you know, pretty much on demand when a detective asked for it,

it kind of raised a red flag. The way that your name came up in the investigation was linked to the vehicle, the Jeep. Detectives confront Brenda with a claim made by her friend, Jose Ortiz. I talked to him earlier today. He said, this week on Wednesday, that you dropped your car off at his shop and that you borrowed a vehicle of his. No, it wasn't me. It was Crystal, the girl that took me.

As soon as I asked about the Jeep, her response was, I gave it to my friend Crystal. Crystal had the Jeep. We'll give her a call real quick, and I'll see if we can get her down here. So I'd like to get this straightened out today. At that moment, we got Crystal's phone number from her, called Crystal, and one of the detectives

wanted to pick Crystal up to bring her in for an interview. Coming up, Crystal describes a harrowing account of the murder. He gets in the backseat, and he's like, drive. Just drive. I'm like, I have my son in the back, so I said, please don't hurt me. Please don't kill my son. As the lies multiply, detectives grow impatient.

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September 4, 2015. It's been two days since Dr. Kendra Hatcher was gunned down in the parking garage of her Dallas apartment building. 33-year-old Brenda Delgado, who reportedly had possession of the getaway vehicle the day of the crime, has just told police it was actually her friend, Crystal Cortez, driving the Jeep. I had Crystal in one room and I had Brenda in another room and I was going in between one room to get any information I could get from one and go spin it and use it against the other one to get more information. To detective's surprise, Crystal readily admits she was driving the Jeep the day Kendra was killed.

My son wanted to go to the park, so I thought, okay, fine, we'll go to the park. Before I pulled in, the guy gets in my seat. And he puts the gun right here. He gets in the back seat, and he sits down. He's like, drive. Just drive. I'm like, OK. I don't know who you are.

Please don't hurt me. Please don't kill yourself. Crystal said that she was forced at gunpoint by this individual to drive into this parking garage. Crystal says she tailgated into the garage behind another vehicle. So you show up there a little after 7. You pull in, you park.

You sit there for a while, and this car drives in. He got off the vehicle. What do you hear? That's when I heard the gun. I don't know if it was one or two shots. I just heard the gun. I don't know if it was one or two shots. I just heard the echo. They got back in the vehicle and forced her to drive him to an area town called Oak Cliff,

where he got out of the vehicle and left her and her son be. The surveillance tapes did not catch her son in the Jeep, so the investigators pretty easily proved that her son wasn't there. She obviously flat out lied to the Jeep. So the investigators pretty easily proved that her son wasn't there. She obviously flat out lied to the detective. And that detail is not the only thing that fails to add up. She had every opportunity to drive off once he exited the vehicle.

But she didn't. She drove off after the shots were fired, and she waited for him to get back in. Not one time did you honk your horn, not one time did you flash your lights, not one time did you make any motions for anybody to try to help you. So I'm telling you right now,

I don't believe this bullsh-t. As detectives turn up the heat, Crystal delivers another version of events, and this time admits it was a planned attack. The story that she presented was that, yes, I was there with this individual. It was just supposed to be a purse snatching. He was just gonna chunk her. That's it.

I don't know this dude. I really didn't know he had a gun. He was just supposed to go in, get her purse, and we were supposed to leave. She said the shooter got out of the vehicle. He walked over to snatch the purse, and Dr. Hatcher just didn't comply. I heard, no, no, no, no, no. Pow.

That was it. And I was like, what did you do? And he was like, shut up or I'll kill you. And he knows where I stay. He's like, what did you do? And he's like, shut up or I'll kill you. And he knows where I stay. When detectives ask why Crystal participated in this crime, she says it was all her friend Brenda's idea.

What was her beef with this girl? I think that they were running back and forth between the same guy. I think that's what happened. What I learned about Ricky and Brenda was they dated somewhere about two and a half years. They ended up breaking up in June of 2014. In December of 2014, they decided to rekindle their relationship to see if they could work it out. And by February of 2015, they decided to call it quits for good. By May, Ricky had moved on.

With Kendra, you know, their relationship developed pretty fast. And I think he was head over heels with Kendra, you know, their relationship developed pretty fast. And I think he was head over heels with Kendra. And he changed his Facebook profile picture to a picture of him and Kendra. So I think that also kind of set Brenda off. Brenda just told me she just wanted me to go take her purse and that was it. How much was she going to pay you for doing that? Um, $500 just to take her purse. The big thing she told me about Brenda's involvement

is that Brenda was willing to pay for the purse. She said it was all about stealing the purse. It was never murder for hire. It was never a planned hit. When detectives confront Brenda with Crystal's story, she denies any knowledge of Kendra Hatcher. When did you learn about Kendra?

I don't know who the girl is. I have no idea. Do you know who she dates currently? I just got a message from my friend, Ricky. He was just very sad. I have no idea. Okay. my Ricky. He was just very sad. I have no idea. Like this, as far as like who he was seeing. Detectives obtain consent to search both of the women's cell phones and soon find damning photos.

On the day after the murder occurred, Brenda and Crystal met up to have lunch. During that time, Crystal was paid $500. And there was a selfie that Crystal took with the $500 folded together in the shape of a heart. In Crystal's interrogation room, investigators tried to make sense of the photos. See that? What are you doing in the picture? I'm sorry. See that? What are you doing in the picture? I was so upset that this woman was killed that you could drive around with a smile on your face and get paid money. And you still say you don't think you did anything wrong.

I didn't shoot the girl. I didn't mug the girl. I just drove. And I didn't expect this girl to get shot. I really didn't. I still didn't feel that she was being 100% honest about her involvement, but I wanted to take some of the pressure off of her and focus on who our shooter is. Who is this guy? Who is this shooter? I know him by Lamar. That's honestly what I know him by. We met each other at the bar in downtown, okay? How long ago was this?

About a month ago. Hasn't even been that long. She was able to give up a name Lamar, and that Lamar drove a blue Chrysler Sebring. Obviously, there were so many inconsistencies in her story that we didn't know if Lamar was a real name or not. She was able to identify a cell phone number that was associated with our shooter. Following her interview, Crystal is arrested for her role in the crime.

She admitted that Brenda paid her to be the getaway driver. So we had enough to arrest her that night for murder. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough evidence to place Brenda in custody. So the only thing that I had to work with was an unpaid traffic ticket. And we did arrest her for the unpaid traffic ticket to kind of figure out what our next step was gonna be. Coming up, police pull out all the stops to bring the co-conspirators to justice.

It then became a federal offense, and Dallas police were able to join with the FBI. She said if she took some dope and shit at her house, she had to pay the cartel their money. And damning evidence reveals a mastermind's desperate plan. She's on the phone trying to buy a silencer for the exact type of gun that was used to kill Kendra. No, a silencer for a 40.

Two days after the murder of Kendra Hatcher, Dallas investigators have arrested the getaway driver, Crystal Cortez. Brenda Delgado is also in custody, but she won't be for long. They were trying to hold her while they found more evidence, so they legally arrested her for this parking problem. With Brenda in custody, detectives turned back to Ricky Peniagua, whose prior relationship with Brenda and current relationship with Kendra raises suspicions. I'm not asking you about anything outside of your relationship with Brenda, your relationship with her and your relationship with Kendra.

Am I, I mean, am I considered a suspect right now? No. Here's the thing. Nothing in this investigation has pointed towards you being a suspect. Before detectives can rule Ricky out, they want to inspect his cell phone. I can't search your phone until I get a search warrant. But with the search warrant, I can search your phone.

OK, so then I am a suspect, then? No. You don't have to be a suspect in order for me to write a search warrant. That is very important because you are the boyfriend. She was meeting up with you. You were at her apartment. Ricky turns over his phone, and what investigators find inside

fully clears him from suspicion. There was no financial motive. There was no bad blood in the relationship. The biggest factor that helped me rule out Ricardo from this investigation was the fact that he stayed around waiting on her and I felt like if he would have been involved he would have left. With Ricky in the clear, detectives set their sights on finding the shooter, a man Crystal Cortez identified as Lamar.

We start researching our databases to see if we can figure out who this Lamar guy is. But after an extensive search, nothing comes up. We were able at that point to determine that Lamar is probably not going to be this individual's name. that Lamar is probably not going to be this individual's name. With a fake name and a dead end, detectives investigate the phone number Crystal provided. The FBI was able to come in and conduct phone pings on the cell phone number that was identified as being the phone number used by the shooter.

The FBI tracks the phone to a nearby apartment complex, and in the parking lot is a blue Sebring. The same vehicle Crystal had associated with the shooter. FBI agents keep eyes on the vehicle, and on September 30th, they pounce. The blue Chrysler Sebring started moving, and so did a cell phone. They were pulled over in a parking lot close by, and at that moment, FBI decided to make

contact with the driver. Authorities identify the man as 31-year-old Christopher Love, and he's no stranger to law enforcement. We found out that he was wanted out of Memphis. So we were able to bring him in, place him in custody for the warrant. The vehicle was then transferred to our auto pound, and the subject was brought down to our headquarters

for an interview. During a search of the Sebring, authorities find a weapon hidden in a side compartment. It was a.40 caliber, which matched our crime scene. So now our detectives rushed from the auto-pound over to our firearms trace lab and conducted a test fire of this firearm to see if the shell cases matched. And within an hour, hour and a half,

we were able to get a positive confirmation on that. I showed Christopher Love a picture of the firearm that we found in his vehicle. He looked at the firearm for several moments and he told me that was his gun. Though Christopher admits the weapon is his, he claims he is not the shooter. He told me that Crystal was the one that was responsible for shooting Dr. Hatcher. I went over there and snatched her purse. So she backs out as you snatched it, then what happened? I jumped in the truck and I heard the shot, bam.

So she had to put the truck in park as she's backing up and she shoots him. How hard is that? Like Crystal and Brenda before him, Christopher points the finger at someone else in the group. But for detectives, the evidence doesn't lie. I knew that Crystal was the one driving the vehicle. From the surveillance footage, there was no way possible that the driver was able to get out and shoot because the vehicle was moving at the same time

as the silhouette was approaching the vehicle So I knew that wasn't the truth Christopher says like crystal he was also promised compensation from Brenda She's asked me what kind of drugs I want And she told you she was from the cartel. With the conversation about the drugs, was she quoting prices to you? There was no price.

I don't have to pay for shit. Oh, she said she would get you whatever you want. Yeah. I did ask what the girl do. She said that she took some dope and shit out of her house. She had to pay the cartel their money. They ran some game money. Detectives tell Christopher the real connection,

that Kendra was actually dating Brenda's ex. She had nothing to do with any cartel. She was just a dentist. They go to work every day, just a regular person. We were able to charge him with capital murder, and we booked him into the Dallas County jail. With Crystal Cortez and Christopher Love in custody, detectives set their sights on Brenda.

They were obviously able to hold her for a while there, but she posted the, paid the fine off off and then she walked out the jail. During this investigation I learned that September 5th after Brenda was released from custody she got on a bus and then she fled the country. Authorities are now on the hunt for Delgado who faces charges of capital murder. I won't discuss or speculate as to where she might be, or all I will suggest to her specifically is that she turn herself in as quickly as possible. When Miss Delgado crossed the border into Mexico, it then became a federal offense, and Dallas police were able to join with the FBI in looking for her in Mexico.

While authorities search for Brenda Delgado, detectives do a deeper dive into her phone to strengthen their case against her. We'd received some information throughout the investigation that Brenda was using some type of app to kind of track where Ricardo was at. So she had access to the location of where his iPhone was at all times. To detectives, it seems it was through the phone

stalking that Brenda first discovered Ricky's relationship with Kendra. She did everything she could to keep him engaged, to follow him, to stalk him, all that stuff. And she could not be tossed aside. Detectives also discover one video on Brenda's phone that seems particularly damning. The video was Brenda and Crystal driving around being happy,

and while Brenda's filming it, Crystal's on the phone trying to buy a silencer for the exact type of gun that was used to kill Kendra. Yes, a.40. No, a silencer for a.40. Why would you need a silencer for a.40 caliber firearm, which is the same caliber that was used in the offense, Why would you need a silencer for a.40 caliber firearm, which is the same caliber that was used in the offense, unless it was a planned hit? At that point, our homicide guys knew that it was, in fact, not a robbery.

It was, in fact, a murder for a hire. I believe in Brenda's mind. If she could somehow remove Kendra from Ricky's life, that she would have a shot at this dream life that she hoped she would have with Ricardo. Finally, in April of 2016, after nearly seven months of searching, authorities locate Brenda.

Once we're able to charge her with capital murder, every piece of this investigation down to the evidence and the people that were involved all had ties to Brenda. Mexico did agree to extradite her to the United States as long as we would not seek the death penalty for her. Coming up, the crime's alleged mastermind goes on trial. It could very well be possible that they did know that Brenda would be the one blamed for it. This was orchestrated.

It didn't occur to her at all that there were other lives involved and that she was going to hurt other people. Brenda Delgado, Crystal Cortez, and Christopher Love are all in custody for their roles in the murder of pediatric dentist Kendra Hatcher. But one of the accused decides to turn state's witness and testify against her co-conspirators. Crystal Cortez signed a deal, a plea deal, guilty of murder and agreed to a 35-year sentence. In June of 2019, the trial for alleged mastermind Brenda Delgado gets underway.

Prosecutors call their star witness, Crystal Cortez, to the stand. She was able to give intimate details of how they planned this offense together, how they planned murdering the victim. This was orchestrated. Crystal testifies that on September 2nd, 2015, while Brenda went to dinner to establish an alibi,

Crystal and Christopher snuck into Kendra's parking garage. They waited on Dr. Hatcher to show up. When Dr. Hatcher showed up, Christopher Love exited the rear of the vehicle, went over to her, shot her in the back of the head. He took her purse. Chris entered the vehicle, and him and Crystal exited the parking garage.

Crystal testifies that she then dropped Christopher off and went to pick up Brenda. During that time, Brenda retrieved Kendra's bag, and they swapped vehicles and departed for the evening. The defense counters by refuting Crystal's testimony, painting Brenda as nothing more than a scapegoat. It would appear that she was a victim of a crime. She was a victimpegoat. It would appear that Brenda was extremely jealous, but nothing about it lines up with her character.

She is absolutely not a master manipulator. It could very well be possible that the other two, just from hearing Brenda venting, maybe they were planning a robbery. And maybe they did know that Brenda would be the one blamed for it. You could say that while defending Brenda, I was prosecuting Crystal Cortez. She's already demonstrably proven that she will maliciously and willfully lie and accuse someone of capital murder. And you have to believe Crystal Cortez beyond

reasonable doubt, otherwise you cannot convict Brenda Delgado. When the trial comes to a close, the jury finds Brenda guilty of capital murder, and she is sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Just looking at the evidence logically and coldly, I totally believed that Crystal was telling the truth. I totally believed that Brenda got her involved in this. As for the shooter, Christopher Love is found guilty of capital murder on October 31st, 2018,

and sentenced to death. She found two people that were gullible enough to help her do it. In her mind, I think it was going to be, these two people are gonna do this for me, and then, you know, they're done, they're away. I've got Ricky out of myself. Though Brenda still maintains her innocence, many believe her jealousy simply got the best

of her. In a case like this, where it appeared that jealousy was the cause of her losing her life, this was really one of the worst ones I had seen. She either didn't care or was so callous that it didn't occur to her at all, that there were other lives involved and that she was gonna hurt other people. It affected everyone involved, so Dr. Panawago, who essentially he was just following his heart with Dr. Hatcher, okay? And unfortunately, he is kind of caught in the middle here because of what Brenda did. Those who knew Kendra are determined to keep her memory alive.

We still remember who she is and what she's done. And so we try to hold onto that good memory. It just took a good person from Earth away from us. There's a picture of her looking up and she's smiling up and like she's looking up in the sky and it's like that's her. That's what I'm going to remember. Her happiness. her smile. Ricky lives in California where he continues to practice dermatology. Christopher Love remains on death row in a Livingston, Texas prison. Crystal Cortez is serving her 35-year sentence in Gatesville, Texas. She will be 56 at the time of her projected release.

Brenda Delgado is serving her life sentence in Falls County, Texas. She continues to maintain her innocence. Experience in person the unsettling true stories behind the Dr. Death podcast at Exhibit C Live Presents Dr. Death, A Closer Look. This live tour experience brings you face to face with accounts of doctors who caused irreparable harm, the system that failed to protect their patients, and the heroes who stopped them. You'll hear from me, Laura Beal, reporter and host of the Dr. Death podcast, along with our panel of experts and whistleblowers. It's hosted by Suspects Matthew Scherr.

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