San Antonio, Texas Jury Finds James Mendoza Guilty of Stabbing His Estranged Wife 32 Times

A Bexar County jury on Thursday found James Mendoza guilty of murder in the stabbing death of his estranged wife, Stephanie Mendoza, who was killed at a South Side San Antonio home in August 2024.

Mendoza faces up to life in prison. The jurors who convicted him are expected to return to the courtroom on Friday morning to decide his punishment, according to KTSA News.

The August 2024 killing

On August 13, 2024, San Antonio police officers responded to a home in the 100 block of Division Avenue on the South Side for a reported family violence incident. Stephanie Mendoza's daughter discovered her mother dead inside the home.

Prosecutors said Stephanie Mendoza had been stabbed 32 times. James Mendoza was also found injured at the scene and received medical treatment, KTSA reported.

What the jury heard

During the trial, witnesses described a troubled relationship. They testified that Stephanie Mendoza had tried to leave her husband but kept returning to help him.

One friend testified that James Mendoza had grabbed Stephanie by the arm and physically pulled her on several occasions. Prosecutors argued that he repeatedly tried to draw his estranged wife back into the relationship by using his medical needs, financial requests and personal belongings as leverage.

KSAT reported earlier in the trial that a 911 call made weeks before Stephanie Mendoza was found dead had become part of the timeline in the case. The trial played out in October, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and KSAT reported that it brought renewed attention to the couple's history before her death.

The verdict came a little more than two years after the killing. In that time, the case moved from the Division Avenue crime scene to a Bexar County courtroom, where the central question for the jury was who inflicted the wounds that killed Stephanie Mendoza. The guilty verdict answers that question. It does not settle how much time James Mendoza will spend in prison. That decision now sits with the same jurors, who are expected to make it on Friday morning after hearing the punishment phase of the trial.

What happens next

The case now moves to the punishment phase. The same jury is expected to set Mendoza's sentence on Friday morning. He faces up to life in prison for the murder conviction.

Anyone in the San Antonio area living with domestic violence can reach local advocates through the Family Violence Prevention Services crisis line, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline takes calls around the clock.