JUAREZ, Mexico (Border Report) — A former Fort Bliss soldier accused of killing a woman in Juarez last year will remain in a Mexican prison to face trial.
A Chihuahua state judge on Monday found probable cause that Saul Luna Villa, 23, participated in the April 23, 2023, aggravated femicide of 19-year-old Aylin Becerril Valenzuela, a mother of two.
District Judge Antonio Coss Arango made his ruling despite vigorous arguments by Luna’s attorney of lack of direct evidence linking his client to the murder and alleged inconsistencies from witnesses.
The most divisive argument is a selfie the young woman sent her mother while allegedly inside a vehicle with Luna the night she was stabbed, and then shot to death. The photo shows part of the tattooed arm of a man. The problem is the tattoos are on the opposite arm where Luna has his, Luna’s attorney argued.
Chihuahua state prosecutors said the selfie likely was taken with a “mirror” effect by the young woman. And Coss said he had enough testimonial evidence from Becerril’s mother, sister, a close friend and the texts from the victim herself to presume she went to meet Luna and that he was the last to see her alive.
The judge also eschewed objections from the defense that the shared-ride company that took the young mother to her alleged rendezvous with Luna had no record of her trip. A woman named Helen Reyes took the ride, but Becerril apparently went by other names including Aylin Valenzuela, Ailen Marina Becerril Valenzuela and possibly Reyes.
Coss also said the U.S. Consulate in Juarez sent records of a vehicle registered to Luna bearing similarities to the black GMC Terrain that Juarez security cameras captured at an intersection, with a man in a white T-shirt getting out and leaving Becerril’s body there.
U.S. federal government records also document Luna crossing the El Paso-Juarez border on the evening of the murder.
Coss also said he had enough evidence that Luna and the victim had been romantically involved so as to elevate the charge from aggravated homicide to aggravated femicide, which carries a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison. Prosecutors made the case to the judge that the motive of the crime was jealousy.
Luna, sporting short hair and days’ old stubble, remained calm and silent during Monday’s three-and-a-half-hour proceedings. He even smiled when his attorney encouraged him during a break, which quickly elicited an emotional response from the victim’s family.
“De que te ríes?” challenged Aylin’s teenage younger sister, before leaning on her grandfather to sob. The judge called a psychologist to assist the sister, Leslie Denise.
Vicente Becerril, the grandfather, told Border Report at the end of the hearing he was glad the Mexican court was seeking justice for Aylin, but that the family would remain vigilant of the process.
“We don’t want revenge, but we are here to seek justice,” he said, wearing a black T-shirt with the picture of Aylin.
The judge gave prosecutors four months to present a detailed technical analysis of the crucial photograph and other evidence.
Fort Bliss officials on Monday confirmed that Luna, a U.S. citizen, was assigned to the post’s 1st Armored Division up until this month but is no longer a member of the U.S. Army.
Before being handed him over to Mexican authorities on Feb. 20, Luna had been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since September of 2023, a Fort Bliss spokesperson said.
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