Police: No evidence shooter had local ties

HARLINGEN - Police said they are still trying to fill in the gaps in a chain of events that led to a man fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend at a Harlingen H-E-B store and then killing himself at a Weslaco Mal-Mart on New Year's Eve.

Moises Gonzalez, 28, has links to the Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio but there is no evidence that he has ties to Harlingen, police Capt. Hector Leal said Friday.

"There is a lot of inaccurate speculation and rumors about him staying in Harlingen at La Quinta Inn," Leal said. "We have found nothing to confirm that. We are just at the beginning. This is a major violent event so we're going to take our time to make sure we can back up everything we put in our report."

Investigators are now working with Weslaco and McAllen police, among other law enforcement agencies, to compile an official report to
present to the District Attorney's Office, Leal said.

"Since he's gone and she's gone, we may never know exactly what caused him to go on this crime spree," he said.

A background check was done on Gonzalez during his two-day run but Harlingen police will not release any information on his criminal history until further police investigation, Leal said.

A preliminary report on the autopsy of Maura Marroquin, 23, is also expected to be complete within the next four days, he said.

"We've spoken to many people and we will be talking to anyone we deem necessary for the investigation," Leal said. "I have assigned a detective specifically to this case and he has been working with the major agencies to compile as much information as possible."

Police said the crime spree began Tuesday when Gonzalez abducted Marroquin by forcing her off the road in McAllen.

Gonzalez - over the course of the next two days - eluded authorities from several law enforcement agencies throughout the Valley in four vehicles stolen at gunpoint in four cities, police said.

Gonzalez stole a Toyota Sequoia in Edinburg Wednesday morning and was not seen until 7 p.m., when he entered H-E-B on Expressway 83 in Harlingen with Marroquin, police said.

They were in the store for only a short time when Gonzalez shot her twice in the torso near a grocery aisle and fled in the Toyota Sequoia, Harlingen police Chief Daniel Castillo said.

Gonzalez continued to elude police in a high-speed chase west on the expressway before intentionally crashing into the front of a Wal-Mart off Expressway 83 in Weslaco and then killing himself, authorities said.

McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said Thursday that police suspect Gonzalez's relationship with his ex-girlfriend led to the initial abduction.

Monitor reporters Jared Janes and Ana Ley contributed to this report.