Poteet man sentenced to life in prison accepts plea deal in capital murder case

ATASCOSA COUNTY, TX – A Poteet man accused of killing two women in Atascosa County and then setting the crime scene on fire has accepted a plea deal in the case.

On Monday, Rosendo Jesus Montoya, 28, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to the capital murder of multiple people.

“It’s almost unheard of to be able to solve a capital murder case in a year, but we wanted to get justice for the families,” said Atascosa County Prosecutor Audrey Gossett Louis. “The outcome means (Montoya) will take his last breath in prison and spare the family the pain of a trial and appeals. And you never know with the jury.”

Montoya confessed to killing Mary Heinz, 33, and her roommate, Laura West, 43. Sheriff David Soward said Montoya and West dated briefly, but he later became “obsessed” with her.

West's body was found inside her home in the 100 block of Peach Tree in Leming. She had been shot in the head and her house had been set on fire.

Several days later, investigators surveilled Montoya and saw him throw two plastic bags into the dumpsters of a fast-food restaurant where he worked in Pleasanton.

An investigator retrieved the trash bags and discovered they contained partial human remains. Montoya was taken into custody, where he confessed and took investigators to the location of Heinz's body, near a county road about five miles north of Poteet.