Pasadena mother confesses to hitting, killing husband with SUV, police say

PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) — A Pasadena mother reportedly confessed to striking and killing her husband with her SUV early Sunday morning.

Pasadena Police Officer Darby Slack said Alina Gonzalez-Morelos told investigators she meant to hit, but not kill, her 42-year-old husband, Leonardo Mendoza.

Gonzalez-Morelos reportedly told investigators she had just returned home from a party and was drunk at the time of the attack.

“As far as we know, there were just some marital issues going on. She’d come home around 2 o’clock that morning. The children overheard them having an argument inside of the room. He exited, and she followed,” Slack said.

Slack said Mendoza was walking from the couple’s Red Bluff Road apartment to the nearby Kroger, where he parked his car, when someone in a gas station reportedly watched Gonzalez-Morelos hit him.

“(The witness) stated that he had seen a black Tahoe exit the roadway, jump the curb, and strike the male that was walking through the parking lot. The vehicle left the scene,” Slack said.

Slack said Mendoza was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died. Investigators spoke with family members there who “stated, based on the vehicle description, that they believe it matched the spouse’s vehicle.”

Investigators contacted Gonzalez-Morelos, who “came in voluntarily and confessed,” according to Slack.

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