A Texas man suspected of gunning down his ex-girlfriend earlier this week returned to the scene on Thursday and killed himself.
Pasadena Police were alerted to a suspicious person — 20-year-old Juan Carlos Mata — at the apartment building where Lesley Reyes, 19, had lived with her parents, KHOU reported. He was seen near a memorial for Reyes, but when police arrived, he walked behind a car, pulled out a shotgun, and shot himself.
Mata was named the suspect in Reyes’ death when he was seen at the scene Monday after the shooting.
“The suspect was still on scene and he was walking away. Our officers weren’t able to pursue him because they tended to the victim first and immediately noticed that she was deceased. By the time they tried to go after his location, he was already gone,” Pasadena Police Sgt. Raul Granados said.
Granados described the shooting Monday night as an “ambush attack” and said Mata was waiting for Reyes when she got home from work. Mata shot her twice, police said, and Reyes’ parents rushed outside upon hearing the shots and found her deadin the parking lot.
Read Related Also: Cop who ditched degree requirement wants officers catching criminals 'not writing essays'
Lourdes Martinez, Reyes’ sister, told KHOU that Mata and Reyes dated for about a year but broke up a month ago. Family members describe him as “obsessed” with her and said their relationship had been “abusive” and “toxic.”
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Lesley Reyes/handout and Juan Carlos Mata/Pasadena Police Department]
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’
fbq(‘init’, ‘249856382045099’);
fbq(‘track’, “PageView”);
