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2002 East End murders

SOLVED2002East End, Houston, Texas, United States3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

In 2002, a series of murders occurred in the East End area of Houston, Texas, involving three victims: a teenage high-school student and two adult waitresses. The cases involved Edgardo Rafael Cubas Matamoros, a Honduran citizen born February 7, 1979; Walter Alexander Sorto, a Salvadoran citizen born August 10, 1977; and Eduardo Navarro, who was 15 years old at the time of the crimes.

The first victim, Esmeralda Alvarado, was a 15-year-old sophomore at Lamar High School who lived in the East End. She disappeared on January 18, 2002, after leaving her boyfriend's house. She was kidnapped, raped, and shot to death. Her body was left in a field in an industrial zone on the block of 18000 Market Street and was discovered on January 22, 2002.

The other two victims, 24-year-old Roxana Aracelie Capulin and 38-year-old Maria Moreno Rangel, worked as waitresses at the El Mirador restaurant in the East End, a business Capulin's family, who had immigrated from El Salvador, had acquired in 1994. The two women disappeared on May 31, 2002, and their bodies were found on July 1, 2002, inside Capulin's vehicle. Both had been shot to death and had their eyes and mouths covered with tape.

Sorto turned himself in at a police station in an apparent attempt to claim a reward for solving the crimes and confessed after his arrest. Navarro was arrested at his residence the same day, and Cubas was arrested while working at a construction site in Tomball, Texas. One of Cubas's attorneys, Gilberto Villarreal, said Cubas also confessed to killing Capulin in addition to Alvarado.

Prosecutors sought the death penalty against Sorto and Cubas. Navarro, who served as the getaway driver in the deaths of Capulin and Rangel, was ineligible for the death penalty because he was a minor at the time of the crimes; in 2004 he pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery under a plea agreement and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

In November 2003, Sorto was sentenced to death for the murders of Capulin and Rangel. Cubas was convicted of the capital murder of Alvarado on May 10, 2004, and sentenced to death on May 22, 2004, following jury deliberations of about two and a half hours. Cubas's defense team included attorneys Frances "Poppy" Northcutt and Gilberto Villarreal; several of his relatives traveled from Honduras to testify at his trial. Both Sorto and Cubas have been held on death row at the Polunsky Unit in West Livingston, Texas. Cubas's execution, originally scheduled for January 16, 2014, was later rescinded.

Key facts

Victims
Maria Moreno Rangel, Roxana Aracelie Capulin, Esmeralda Alvarado
Date
2002
Location
East End, Houston, Texas, United States
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2000

    Cubas left his hometown of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, for the United States.

  2. 2000-12

    Sorto was sentenced to ten years' probation for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.

  3. 2002-01-18

    Esmeralda Alvarado disappeared after leaving her boyfriend's house.

  4. 2002-01-22

    Alvarado's body was discovered in a field in an industrial zone on the block of 18000 Market Street.

  5. 2002-05-31

    Roxana Aracelie Capulin and Maria Moreno Rangel disappeared.

  6. 2002-07-01

    The bodies of Capulin and Rangel were found inside Capulin's vehicle.

  7. 2003-11

    Sorto was sentenced to death for the murders of Capulin and Rangel.

  8. 2004-05-10

    Cubas was convicted of the capital murder of Alvarado.

  9. 2004-05-22

    Cubas was sentenced to death.

  10. 2004

    Navarro pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery in a plea agreement and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

  11. 2014-01-16

    Cubas's originally scheduled execution date, later rescinded.

Best coverage

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People

  • Eduardo Navarro

    CONVICTED

    Was 15 years old at the time of the crimes; served as getaway driver in the deaths of Capulin and Rangel; pleaded guilty in 2004 to aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

  • Maria Moreno Rangel

    VICTIM

    38-year-old waitress at El Mirador restaurant; disappeared May 31, 2002, and found shot to death on July 1, 2002.

  • Walter Alexander Sorto

    CONVICTED

    Salvadoran citizen; sentenced to death in November 2003 for the murders of Capulin and Rangel; confessed after turning himself in.

  • Roxana Aracelie Capulin

    VICTIM

    24-year-old waitress at El Mirador restaurant; disappeared May 31, 2002, and found shot to death on July 1, 2002.

  • Esmeralda Alvarado

    VICTIM

    15-year-old sophomore at Lamar High School; kidnapped, raped, and shot to death on or after January 18, 2002.

  • Edgardo Rafael Cubas Matamoros

    CONVICTED

    Honduran citizen; convicted of the capital murder of Esmeralda Alvarado on May 10, 2004, and sentenced to death on May 22, 2004.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

East End, Houston, Texas, United States

29.7405, -95.3335

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
In 2002, three people were prosecuted in connection with the kidnapping, rape, and shooting deaths of a teenage girl and two women in Houston's East End. Walter Alexander Sorto and Edgardo Rafael Cubas Matamoros were convicted of murder and sentenced to death; juvenile co-defendant Eduardo Navarro pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and received a 13-year sentence.
Where did the murders happen?
East End, Houston, Texas, United States.
Who was convicted?
Eduardo Navarro (Was 15 years old at the time of the crimes; served as getaway driver in the deaths of Capulin and Rangel; pleaded guilty in 2004 to aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.), Walter Alexander Sorto (Salvadoran citizen; sentenced to death in November 2003 for the murders of Capulin and Rangel; confessed after turning himself in.), and Edgardo Rafael Cubas Matamoros (Honduran citizen; convicted of the capital murder of Esmeralda Alvarado on May 10, 2004, and sentenced to death on May 22, 2004.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in Texas

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDIC2002 East End murdersWikipedia · 2026-07-10
  2. OFFICIAL / AGENCYContemporaneous coverage — tdcj.texas.govtdcj.texas.gov · 2026-07-10
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — chron.comchron.com · 2026-07-10

Record history

First published
JUL 11, 2026