A Hays County jury today convicted Reynaldo Zamora of the 1986 aggravated kidnapping of a 9-year-old girl.
On December 20, 1986, Reynaldo Zamora abducted two young girls by enticing them into his car after claiming to be related to someone they knew. Zamora drove the girls around the Buda and Kyle area, buying them food and alcohol at a local gas station. Eventually, Zamora stated he would drop the girls off near their neighborhood, but after one of the girls had left the car, Zamora pulled the second victim back into the car by the hair, took her to a remote rest stop, and abused her sexually. As the child attempted to escape, Zamora threatened to break her arm if she touched the car door. Zamora then released the girl on the side of the road in her neighborhood, threatening her to keep silent. Both girls’ later statements to police were corroborated by credit card records linking Zamora to the local gas station where Zamora had purchased the hamburger and wine cooler described by the girls. Zamora was arrested soon after.
In August of 1987, Zamora failed to appear for trial and became a fugitive until he was ultimately re-arrested in 2013 in Kyle, Texas. While many items of evidence had been lost in the intervening years, Zamora’s victim testified that her memory of the events was clear. First Assistant District Attorney Ralph Guerrero, who represented the State along with Assistant District Attorney Brian Erskine, argued to the jury that “evidence may disappear, but a child’s memory of the man who kidnapped and molested her will never disappear.”
The jury took about an hour of deliberations before rendering their verdict. In a brief punishment hearing Presiding Judge Bruce Boyer heard evidence that Zamora has been previously convicted of Aggravated Kidnapping to commit sexual assault of a child, rape, indecent exposure and drug offenses. Judge Boyer then sentenced Zamora to 60 years in prison (The punishment range for Aggravated Kidnapping is from five to 99 years or life in prison).
Hays County District Attorney Wes Mau would like to thank everyone who worked on the case and who refused to allow justice to go unserved, no matter how long it took. “The dedication of the law enforcement and prosecutors in bringing this defendant to justice, and the willingness and bravery of the victim to come forward after all this time and relive her childhood trauma combined to finally put Reynaldo Zamora where he belongs.”