Texas man who hid missing woman’s remains in car trunk is sentenced

GALVESTON, Texas (TCN) -- A man has been sentenced for hiding the body of a missing mother of four in the trunk of her own vehicle.

The Galveston County District Attorney’s Office announced March 4  that a jury sentenced Christopher Maldonado to probation for concealing Angela Mitchell’s remains. A judge set his probation term for 10 years, and he must serve 120 days in jail as a condition.

According to prosecutors, in early May 2022, Mitchell failed to pick up her infant son, and her friends grew concerned. Mitchell’s cousin reportedly tried to track Mitchell’s phone and saw that it was near Maldonado’s home.

Mitchell’s mother reported her daughter missing to the Dickinson Police Department on May 6, 2022. Several days later, a detective found her car in Texas City, which had "flies" and the "odor of death" emitting from the trunk. Texas City Fire Department personnel and a detective opened it and discovered Mitchell’s decomposing body.

According to the district attorney’s office, Mitchell was a sex worker, and her last known job was at Maldonado’s house in Lago Mar on May 5, 2022. Investigators have not yet identified a cause of death due to the state of decomposition, but they ruled out an overdose or natural causes. Maldonado was indicted on a charge of tampering with a corpse.

During the trial, which began on Feb. 26, prosecutors presented various pieces of evidence, including from Maldonado’s cellphone, showing that he last communicated with the victim on May 5, 2022. Authorities also found screenshots on Maldonado’s phone of Mitchell’s missing person posters.

According to prosecutors, one of Maldonado’s friends said that on the night Mitchell disappeared, Maldonado paid him $200 to move the vehicle that Mitchell was found in. The friend reportedly insisted he didn’t know there was a body in the trunk, and he had two teenagers help him. One of the teens testified and said one of her friends asked for help moving the car and offered "some quick cash." The teen allegedly found the body in the trunk.

Maldonado’s ex-wife also testified and claimed the defendant was "manipulative and controlling and had strangled her." A charge of strangulation assault against Maldonado is pending in the incident.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Casey Kirst said Maldonado’s actions "robbed Mitchell’s family of the chance to know how she died."

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