Aubrey man admits to murdering aunt after kicking him out of her house: police

AUBREY, Texas - Police in the Denton County town of Aubrey say a young man admitted he murdered his aunt and then tried to bury her in the backyard.

Police say she was about to kick him out of the house. The victim was a retired Dallas ISD employee.

In a quiet Aubrey neighborhood, a cross and a candle now join Halloween decorations outside the home of Mary Jacinto.

Police say the 71-year-old was murdered by her nephew, 24-year-old Adrian Padilla, who was angry his aunt was kicking him out of the house. 

Monday evening, Jacinto’s sister called Aubrey police for a welfare check. 

"A family member had reported to us that they had not been able to get ahold of the victim for several hours. They are a tight-knit family," said Aubrey Police Chief Richard Brooks.

Officers noticed Padilla was in the backyard. Police say he refused to cooperate and ran inside the home. 

"The officers pursued him over the fence to the back door and were able to reengage him again and talk him into surrendering to them," Brooks said.

Adrian Joe Padilla, 24 (Source: Aubrey Police Department)

Once Padilla was detained, officers searched the home and found a shovel in a bedroom with fresh dirt and bleach bottles. 

Detectives also located multiple large kitchen knives with blood on them in the sink. 

Then, Jacinto’s body was found in the backyard wrapped in blankets under a pile of dirt. Police noticed stab wounds to her stomach and her feet. 

"He had told them that he had injured her in self-defense," Brooks said.

That’s the story the police chief says Padilla told his investigators. Police say he admitted everything, stating he and his aunt were arguing Sunday evening about where he was going to live. 

Padilla claimed Jacinto threatened him with a knife, so he assaulted her, moved her to a bedroom and "then stabbed her two times in the stomach."

Padilla admitted he attacked her again after taking a nap and then wrapped her in a blanket, dragged her to the backyard and tried to clean up evidence.

George Rangel is a longtime friend who worked with Jacinto.

"To hear the news and then to read what happened, it is just horrible," he said.

 Jacinto was a teacher assistant at Dallas ISD for more than 30 years but retired a few years ago. 

"The impact this lady had not only on her family but to her work and her co-workers, there are no words," Rangel said. "This is a terrible loss. Terrible loss. She was one of a kind."

One neighbor said they saw Padilla outside Sunday evening pacing the street and acting strange. 

Aubrey police say they haven’t responded to that home for any type of disturbance, and Padilla doesn’t have a violent criminal history. He remains in the Denton County jail.