By Becky Schlikerman, Chicago Tribune –
CHICAGO — The Chicago man accused of stabbing to death his new bride in Illinois was last tracked to a Texas town near the Mexican border, authorities said Thursday.
According to details included in a federal warrant approved Thursday, Arnoldo Jimenez’s phone was tracked to Hidalgo, Texas, Sunday night, just hours after Estrella Carrera’s body was found in the bathtub of her apartment in Burbank. She still was wearing the sparkly silver dress she had worn to celebrate her wedding on Friday.
Jimenez, 30, last used his cellphone in the Chicago area on Saturday, according to the court documents. He continued using it through southern Illinois, near Memphis, Tenn., through Arkansas and then into Texas, records show.
The new documents also reinforce information Carrera’s family told the Chicago Tribune about an emotional call Jimenez made to his sister.
“On (Sunday) Jimenez spoke with his sister by telephone, telling her he and Carrera had a bad fight and he left her bleeding,” according to court documents. Another “close associate of Jimenez” told authorities that Jimenez told the associate “he was leaving the state of Illinois and if questioned by law enforcement, the associate should tell law enforcement he went to Mexico,” records show.
Jimenez was born in Texas and owns property there, and his parents live in Mexico, according to court documents.
Burbank Police Capt. Joe Ford said authorities have received more than 300 tips regarding the case, which has garnered national attention. The tips mostly have been car sightings, police said, with Jimenez last seen driving a black Maserati sedan.
Jimenez and Carrera were married last Friday. They celebrated the spur-of the-moment wedding into the wee hours of Saturday morning with friends and family at a Chicago restaurant, a party limo and a night club, police and family said.
On Sunday, Carrera, 26, was found dead by authorities, who were contacted by relatives after they couldn’t reach her.
On Tuesday, a Cook County warrant was issued for Jimenez, a Chicago resident. He is charged with first-degree murder.
Carrera’s sister, Jazmin, said relatives rarely saw Jimenez and know little about him. They don’t know how he was able to afford his Maserati, and both family and police said they don’t know what Jimenez did for a living.
“He had all that and no history of working,” Jazmin Carrera said.
Jazmin Carrera and other relatives said they did not approve of the couple’s relationship, which had been tumultuous for about three years.
“He was so possessive with her and jealous,” Jazmin Carrera said.
Court records show Jimenez was charged in 2003 with domestic battery, but the complaining witness did not show up to court and the charges were dropped.
Jimenez is the father of Estrella Carrera’s youngest child, a 2-year-old boy. Carrera was also mother to a 9-year-old daughter, relatives said.
