Jury hears opening arguments in Dickinson woman’s death case - Angela Leeann Mitchell was found dead in the trunk of her car in May 2022 Prosecutors and defense attorneys presented opening statements in the trial of Christopher Lee Maldonado, 46, who is accused of tampering with the corpse of Angela Leeann Mitchell, a Dickinson woman whose body was found in the trunk of her car in May 2022. This happened in Judge Jeth Jones' 122nd District Court on Wednesday (02/26/25). Prosecutors told jurors that Mitchell’s body was so decomposed that the medical examiner could not determine a cause of death. However, an autopsy ruled out overdose, gunshot wounds, stabbing, and blunt force trauma. Prosecutors argued that if her body had been found sooner, the cause of death might have been determined. “The simplest answer is usually the right one,” Prosecutor Casey Kirst of the Galveston County District Attorney's office said. “And the right answer here is that Mr. Maldonado put her dead body in the back of her car and paid someone to move it. At the end of this trial, you will find him guilty of tampering with a corpse.” Defense attorney Greg Russell countered that there was no physical evidence linking Maldonado to Mitchell’s death. He argued that there were no fingerprints, DNA, or trace evidence connecting him to the crime. The defense also pointed to another individual, suggesting that this person had attempted to shift blame onto Maldonado. “What we say is not evidence,” the defense attorney told jurors. “What is evidence are the witnesses and documents admitted in this trial. I ask that you keep an open mind.” Maldonado was arrested on June 10, 2022, by Texas City police and U.S. Marshals in the Lago Mar subdivision. He was charged with tampering with a corpse and assault by choking. Mitchell was last seen in the Lago Mar subdivision before she disappeared. Her mother, Georgia Mitchell, reported her missing on May 6. Friends later located her car in Texas City and urged police to search it, but officers said they lacked probable cause. Five days later, her body was found in the trunk of the vehicle. Maldonado, a former Galveston County jailer, worked in the county jail from 2015 to 2018 before being dismissed following an arrest. Court records show past charges for violating a protective order and misdemeanor assault, both of which were later dismissed. Mitchell’s cause of death remains undetermined, and the trial continues.

Posted by i45NOW Staff Report at 2025-02-27 00:05:15 UTC