Mario Romero sentenced to 30 years for killing his wife, fleeing to Mexico in 2009

DENVER CITY, TX (KCBD) - A man who killed his wife and fled to Mexico back in October 2009 pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Wednesday.

Mario Romero was extradited from Mexico back in 2015 after the family raised reward money to aid in his capture. He will serve his sentence in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility and be eligible for parole in 15 years.

Veronica Esquivel Romero was found dead in her Denver City home seven years ago. Her sister Maria broke in to the house to check on her and found her body in the front bedroom.

"She was laying on the floor semi covered," Maria Esquivel said. "She had been there awhile already - at least a day."

Denver City police issued an Amber Alert for Veronica's 3-year-old son Mitchell back in 2009, who was listed as a missing person at the time.

The family later learned that Mitchell died in a traffic accident in Ojinaga, Mexico back in November 2009. Reports stated that Mitchell was traveling with other family members, not his father. Their itinerary was not clear; however, there was some indication that those family members may have been bringing Mitchell back to the United States.

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