A 19-year-old Oscar Ariel Sierra will spend life behind bars after pleading guilty to the murder of a 39-year-old transgender woman in east Houston back in 2022.
Sierra's guilty plea followed the unfolding of events where he had arranged to meet Marisela Castro online, purportedly with intentions of robbery. Surveillance footage unveiled the chilling act wherein Sierra, armed with a firearm, fatally shot Castro in the back of the head after they had parked on a dimly lit street near Herman Brown Park.
Following the murder, authorities say Sierra fled the scene in Castro's vehicle, leaving her belongings behind. The case, however, wasn't swiftly resolved. It took dedicated efforts from the Houston Police Department's homicide detectives to gather evidence and build a case against Sierra.
District Attorney Kim Ogg expressed condemnation for Sierra's actions."This was a cold-blooded murder that the defendant planned out, set up, and went through with," Ogg said. "Shooting a defenseless person is cowardly and despicable, and we hope this defendant spends the rest of his life behind bars."
Houston man pleads guilty to murder of transgender woman, receives life sentence
A 19-year-old Oscar Ariel Sierra will spend life behind bars after pleading guilty to the murder of a 39-year-old transgender woman in east Houston back in 2022.
Marisela Castro
