Inset: Marisol Klingelhofer (WOAI). Background: Andres Perez Tarnava III (KSAT).
A Texas man will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing, dismembering, and burning the remains of his ex-girlfriend, who he accused of stealing his late father’s military ID and Social Security card.
Andres Perez Tarnava III, 40, learned his fate Monday in the murder of Marisol Klingelhofer, 49, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office announced in a press release.
“There is never a reason to use violence in any situation. Had the defendant not taken matters into his own hands, Marisol would be alive today,” Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said in the press release. “Our office is always ready to seek justice and today’s verdict is a representation of that. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Marisol Klingelhofer.”
The defendant was classified as a habitual offender due to his previous felony convictions that included possession of a controlled substance, and federal convictions for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and being a felon in possession of a firearm, authorities said.
He killed Klingelhofer on April 26, 2021, prosecutors said in a press release. Afterward, he disposed of her body in a barrel.
Tarnava then drove her body to his home, where he dismembered and burned her remains to hide the evidence, a witness later testified, local NBC and The CW affiliate WOAI reported.
Then, he “bragged for days and had zero remorse,” Bexar County Assistant District Attorney Raul Jordan said, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
Tarnava was arrested the following month, pulled over for a license plate violation and arrested when the trailer he was hauling did not have a visible Vehicle Identification Number, prosecutors said.
He confessed, claiming the victim stole his late father’s identification card and Social Security card, prosecutors said.
“My dad was my world, and I would do it again,” Tarnava said, local ABC affiliate KSAT reported.
He also admitted to burning her body with motor oil, the Houston Chronicle reported.
“When I see her in hell, I’m going to fry her again. I’d do it in a thousand years. I would do it again and again. Those are his words,” Bexar County Assistant District Attorney Willem VanZeben told the jury.
About dismembering her, Tarnava told investigators, “I didn’t cut her up. Whole,” he told investigators, KSAT reported.
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