University of Idaho murder trial: Venue will be moved, judge rules

(SELMA, Texas) — A man initially interviewed as a witness at the scene of a murder has now been arrested over a year later in the apparent road rage slaying, authorities in Texas announced.

Jacob Daniel Serna, 29, was arrested on Thursday for the murder of Joseph Banales, according to police in Selma, located about 20 miles outside of San Antonio.

The case began on April 15, 2023, when Selma police said they responded to a single-car crash and found Banales shot in the head and slumped over his steering wheel.

Banales, a nursing student and Army ROTC member at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, was declared dead at the scene, police said.

Witnesses said Banales tried to merge into another lane and almost hit a dark blue or black sports car with a loud exhaust system, according to the probable cause affidavit. The sports car slowed down, then spend up along the driver’s side of Banales’ car, witnesses said. Then Banales’ car swerved into another lane and crashed into the center median, and the sports car fled, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Banales was on the phone with his girlfriend at the time; she told police she heard what sounded like a loud exhaust system driving by quickly, then a crash, the document said.

Serna and his wife were at the scene when officers arrived, police said. Officer dashboard camera captured Serna standing over Banales’ body, the probable cause affidavit said.

Serna — who drove a blue Ford Mustang sports car — and his wife were interviewed several times, and their stories changed over time, according to police.

Initially, Serna’s wife told police she saw a blue sports car — similar to the color of their car — in the lane next to Banales, the probable cause affidavit said. Serna told police he didn’t see anything and his wife saw the crash, according to the probable cause affidavit.

This July, police interviewed Serna’s wife again. The Sernas are now separated, according to the probable cause affidavit, and she said her husband had sped up to get a better look at the potential suspect’s car, but the suspect’s car was driving too fast, and that’s when the crash happened, the document said.

On Thursday, police interviewed Serna’s wife again. She admitted her husband shot the victim after her husband “became angry that Banales had nearly changed lanes into his blue Mustang,” police said in a statement on Friday.

She said her husband pulled his pistol out of the glove box, loaded the weapon and fired, according to the probable cause affidavit.

She said she made her husband turn around and drive back to the scene, according to the probable cause affidavit.

During the investigation, police zeroed-in on cellphone records to help determine “who could have been driving a blue sports car at the crime scene,” police said in a statement.

The probe, which included searching license plate reader databases, “revealed only one vehicle matching the description of a blue sports car with loud exhaust” — Serna’s car, police said.

“Google Geo-Fence records show Serna’s Google activity pinging in the area at the same time investigators believe the shooting happened,” police added.

Serna has been booked into the Bexar County Jail, police said.

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(BALTIMORE, Md.) — The operators of the vessel that destroyed Baltimore’s Key Bridge in March have agreed to pay nearly $102 million for costs stemming from the federal response, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Under the settlement, the owners and operator of the Dali vessel — Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited — will pay $101,980,000 to resolve civil claims brought against them by the Justice Department in September, the department said.

ABC News has reached out to Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited for comment.

The civil probe is separate from the still-ongoing criminal investigation by the department into the events that led to the vessel’s collision with the bridge.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — Melissa Lucio, the death row inmate who was convicted of capital murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, is speaking out in an exclusive statement and audio recording to ABC News for the first time since a judge found last month that the Texas mother who has been behind bars for nearly 17 years is “actually innocent.”

“More than words. There are truly no amount of words, no matter how eloquently spoken, that can begin to convey the thanks I feel in this moment,” Lucio said in a statement and audio recording that was shared Tuesday exclusively with ABC News by Lucio’s close friend, filmmaker Sabrina Van Tassel. “I want to thank everyone that has fought so hard. Not just for me, but more importantly for Mariah’s memory.”

Van Tassel’s 2020 Hulu documentary, “The State of Texas vs. Melissa,” propelled Lucio’s case to the national spotlight ahead of a scheduled April 2022 execution that was delayed amid public pressure for the court to review her case.

In a 62-page ruling that was signed on Oct. 16, 2024, and reviewed by ABC News, Senior State District Judge Arturo Nelson recommended that Lucio’s conviction and death sentence be overturned in the 2007 death of her daughter Mariah.

The judge found that prosecutors suppressed evidence and testimony – including statements from Lucio’s other children – that could support the argument that Lucio was not abusive and that her daughter’s death was accidental after a fall down the stairs.

“This Court finds (Lucio) has satisfied her burden and produced clear and convincing evidence that she is actually innocent of the offense of capital murder,” Nelson wrote.

“(T)his Court concludes there is clear and convincing evidence that no rational juror could convict Applicant of capital murder or any lesser included offense,” Nelson added.

“It is safe to say I find myself still in shock and awe of everything that has transpired this past week,” Lucio said in the statement, reflecting on the judge’s recommendation.

“But this story began long before this moment and I want to thank each and every person who has played such a significant part, and not only bringing the truth to light, but fighting so very hard to do so,” she added, proceeding to thank her supporters for being instrumental in getting her execution delayed in 2022 as the court reviews her case.

Lucio thanked her attorneys at the Innocence Project, the coordinator of the “Free Melissa Lucio” campaign, Abraham Bonowitz, and namely, Van Tassel, who Lucio credits with bringing attention to her story through the documentary.

In her statement to ABC News, Lucio recounted the first time she met Van Tassel, who was working on a story about women on death row when Lucio agreed to an interview with her, and said that she “felt led” to speak to her.

“Without her tireless dedication to me and my cause, I do not believe I would be alive today. She brought worldwide attention to the system that has been sweeping issues like mine under the proverbial rug for decades and getting away with it,” she added, reflecting on the 2020 documentary.

Amid growing calls for the court to review her case in 2022, Lucio was granted a stay of her scheduled April 27, 2022, execution by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on April 25, 2022 – after nearly 15 years on death row.

In an exclusive statement to ABC News, Van Tassel said that in the wake of the judge’s ruling, “there is real hope that her death sentence could be overturned, paving the way for Melissa Lucio to finally walk free.”

“This possibility exceeds all my expectations, and I pray for the day we can finally hold each other in our arms,” she said.

The judge’s recommendation was sent to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for review.

ABC News reached out to the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted this case, but a request for comment was not immediately returned.

Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project, and one of Lucio’s attorneys, said in a statement last week that “After 16 years on death row, it’s time for the nightmare to end. Melissa should be home right now with her children and grandchildren.”

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