On February 16, 2017, a fifteen-year-old girl, later identified as Genesis Cornejo-Alvarado, was found shot to death and dumped in the middle of a road near
Southwest Houston. Cornejo lived in
Jersey Village and had been missing for about a month.
Miguel Alvarez-Flores and Diego Hernandez-Rivera, two
MS-13 gang members,
Satanists,
and
illegal immigrants from
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
, were charged with her murder and the kidnapping of a fourteen-year-old girl. The girl claimed that she had run away from school and that Alvarez and Hernandez had kidnapped her, sexually assaulted her, and forced her to take drugs as she was held in their apartment for over a month.
During their arraignment, Alvarez and Hernandez generated controversy by laughing and waving at
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
cameras.
Background
Cornejo was born and raised in
New York City and her family had recently moved to Houston.
She had been missing for a month before the events.
Alvarez and Hernandez are both Salvadoran illegal immigrants, Satanists, and members of MS-13.
Events
Cornejo had been reported missing a month before her death.
On February 16, her dead body was found on Sharpcrest Street in Southwest Houston.
Police said that she had been shot twice at close range.
Her body remained unidentified until March 2017. The
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reconstructed the victim and created a poster in efforts to identify her.
A fourteen-year-old girl was also allegedly kidnapped. She told the police that she had run away from school a month earlier and that she was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and forced to take drugs. She also claims to have been forcibly tattooed by Alvarez.
The victim told the police that when Cornejo criticized a Satanic
shrine in the apartment, which Alvarez and Hernandez called "The Beast", Alvarez felt offended and offered the statue a
cigarette
A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...
, but then he said that the statue wanted a soul instead.
After they allegedly killed Cornejo, the victim was able to escape and lead police to Alvarez and Hernandez. Prosecutors say that Hernandez admitted to shooting Cornejo after the pair were arrested.
Legal proceedings
Alvarez and Hernandez were charged with murder and aggravated kidnapping.
During their arraignment, they both waved and smiled at the cameras.
On May 26, 2021, both men were sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to her murder. Hernandez was sentenced to an additional 12 years for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon to run concurrently with his 40 year sentence.
See also
*
List of kidnappings
The following is a list of kidnappings summarizing the events of each individual case, including instances of celebrity abductions, claimed hoaxes, suspected kidnappings, extradition abductions, and mass kidnappings.
Before 1900
1900–1949
...
*
List of solved missing person cases
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornejo-Alvarado, Genesis
2010s missing person cases
2017 murders in the United States
Crimes involving Satanism or the occult
Deaths by firearm in Texas
Female murder victims
Formerly missing people
Kidnapped American children
Missing person cases in Texas
Incidents of violence against girls
2017 in Houston
Child murder in the United States