Texas woman’s confession of homicide possibly false – Connie Yanez, whose current boyfriend is accused of killing her ex, cops to the murder on tape
‘Each suspect has claimed responsibility for Guerra’s death, with differing motives, which suspiciously looks like the pair have been gunning for a defense strategy of creating ‘reasonable doubt’ even before executing the gruesome deed’
Connie Yanez, 40, and Michael Scott Quinn were arrested for the murder of 56-year-old Albert Guerra, in San Antonio, Texas, on May 4, 2013
Quinn, 53, was accused of battering Guerra with a hammer, before dismembering his victim and torching the remains
The victim was found clutching a handful of the killers hair, DNA matched the hair to Michael Scott Quinn
Quinn’s alleged motive was girlfriend, Yanez, telling him her ex-lover (Guerra) hit her and refused to return personal items she left in his house from living there
Quinn and Yanez both of whom were in the house during the murder are being tried separately
Friday the jury heard Connie Yanez telling cops she murdered her ex, not Quinn
Prosecutors think her confession is possibly false
Connie Yanez told the court Friday that she battered her ex, Albert Guerra, to death with a hammer. Her current boyfriend, Michael Scott Quinn, is on trial for the murder. The cops believe the confession by Yanez to be false.
Michael Scott Quinn, 53 was on trial in a San Anthonio court for the 2013 beating death of Albert Guerra. Quinn’s girlfriend, Connie Yanez, is facing a seperate trial for the crime, as well.
Yanez, then 36, who had just ended a relationship with the victim, allegedly told Quinn he ex [Guerra], hit her , then went for the ride along as Quinn killed Guerra. However, Friday , the jury heard her telling the cops, she committed the murder, not Quinn.
Michael Scott Quinn (left), is on trial for the murder of love rival, Albert Guerra. An affidavit sworn by a relative claims Quinn made the call to on day of the murder to an out-of-state relative, saying he had “cut” a man who “punched his friend Connie in the face,” the affidavit said. It also quoted Quinn as saying he had dismembered the man.
Texas man accused of murdering his girlfriend’s ex, chopped off his legs, set remains on fire
The charge sheet alleges that Quinn and Yanez ambushed Guerra in his home while he was asleep after Yanez told her new boyfriend that her ex hit her and refused to return items she left in his home while they were living togather. The killer allegedly hit Guerra with a hammer 19 times, so hard, brain matter seeped through the skull. He then sawed off the victim’s legs at the thigh, and set his remains on fire.
Prosecutors doubt the veracity of Yanez’s confession, and have agreed to a plea deal that sentences her to 15 years in prison on burglary charges. It has not yet been approved by a judge.Quinn had previously confessed to cutting up Guerra with a power saw , according to My San Antonio. “I did what I did for her,” Quinn said.
SAPD detective Tom McNelly, attested to the spurned lover’s inebriated state when she was arrested, backed by the tape the jury viewed that showed a rambling Yanez who was “not sober” during her video confession. According to Detective McNelly told the court, she alternatively curled up in a ball in the interview room, and lay down on chairs and on the floor. She also told a relative on the phone that she was “pilled up.”
Connie Yanez was 36, and boyfriend, Michael Scott Quinn, 50 when they were arrested on May 5, 2013. Both are on trial for the murder of Albert Guerra and clearly going for a defense strategy of creating ‘reasonable doubt’
The confession which authorities classify as dubious has Yanez saying she was the one, not Quinn, who killed and dismembered her former lover, Albert Guerra, and set his remains on fire, she said.
“I (expletive) burned him,” Yanez could be heard telling McNelly, slurring and cursing. “I (expletive) did it. I took him down. I’m guilty of the crime. Take me in. I’m a murderer. I told him not to touch me. I was scared of him.”
Prosecutors doubt the veracity of Yanez’s incoherent statement to police on May 5, 2013, the day after San Antonio firefighters found Guerra, 56, his legs severed, in his burning house. 
SAPD investigator, Lyndsey Patten, examines a charred saw tenderes as evidence in the Michael Scott Quinn murder trial, in San Anthonio, Texas Wednesday
San Anthonio prosecutors have agreed to a plea deal that sentences Yanez to 15 years in prison on burglary charges. It has yet to be approved by a judge.
Quinn’s attorneys, Robert Shaffer and Bob Hicks, offered the video confession in the first day of defense testimony. The jury already has heard the confession their client gave to SAPD detectives, in which he said he cut up Guerra with a power saw because “I loved (Yanez) to death. I did what I did for her.”
Lyndsey Patten, examines a tree trimmer also submitted as evidence in the Michael Scott Quinn case.
The video of Yanez shows she was clearly “not sober,” SAPD detective Tom McNelly testified. She was variously curled up in a ball in the interview room, lying down on chairs and on the floor and at one point told a relative on the phone that she was “pilled up.”
As Yanez told McNelly she had committed the crime, McNelly informed her of her right to an attorney and she told the detective she wanted one. The interrogation stopped and she was later arrested and put in handcuffs. Quinn watched the video intently from the defense table, but had no visible reaction.
A “pilled up” Yanez claimed to be the real killer. Now she pleads the 5th in court in response to requests to identifying herself
Yanez briefly took the stand Friday, but only long enough, under the guidance of attorney Kristen Mulliner, to say that she would use her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself. She declined even to identify herself.
Parts of Yanez’s video statement were a mixture of Spanish and English and the jurors read a translation of it that was prepared by the district attorney’s office as they watched.
Prosecutor Jason Goss got the defense to admit that Yanez never gave any specifics about the killing, no details about the arson or how the body was cut up. Goss contends that law enforcement are often suspicious of confessions among lovers if they don’t match the evidence.
Yanez was arrested and handcuffed after her video confession.
A stoic Quinn watched the crime scene photos and confession from the courtroom, without reacting. The trial resumes this week in the 437th District Court.
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