Brenda Delgado tracked her ex-boyfriend's phone and knew he planned to take his new girlfriend to Mexico. She paid two people to kill the woman, a co-defendant testified Tuesday.
Crystal Cortes said Delgado, 36, paid her $500 for her role in the death of Kendra Hatcher, who was shot in the head on Sept. 2, 2015, in the parking garage of her Uptown apartment.
Hatcher and her boyfriend, Ricardo Paniagua, were scheduled to leave the next day for a vacation in Mexico. Several witnesses during the trial said Delgado was obsessed with Paniagua and jealous of his new relationship with Hatcher.
Paniagua and Hatcher had been dating for about six months.
Cortes, 25, testified against Delgado during the second day of the capital murder trial. If convicted, Delgado will receive an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole.
The triggerman, 35-year-old Kristopher Love, was convicted in October of capital murder in Hatcher's death. Love received the death penalty.
Though Delgado is also charged with capital murder, she is not eligible to receive the death penalty because she was extradited from Mexico months after Hatcher was killed.
Cortes testified the group considered ways to kill Hatcher. They considered injecting her with heroin or a sedative.
"We talked about methods of killing Kendra Hatcher and everybody came to the agreement of shooting her would be the fastest way to do it," Cortes said.
Cortes also testified during Love's trial. She was also originally charged with capital murder, but testified as part of a plea agreement. She will be sentenced to 35 years for a reduced charge of murder.
Defense attorney George Milner told jurors in opening statements Monday that Delgado exhibited obsessive behavior but didn't plan Hatcher's murder.
He also questioned on Tuesday whether Cortes can be believed because she changed her story several times when interviewed by investigators and prosecutors.
Cortes originally told police she was simply the getaway driver and didn't know anything about a plot to murder Hatcher. During Love's trial and this week, Cortes said she stalked Hatcher with Love.
They followed Hatcher from her Uptown her apartment to her job, where she was a pediatric dentist.
Cortes also described trying to buy a silencer for the gun the group planned to use to kill Hatcher.
Cortes said she and Love burned the clothes they wore during Hatcher's slaying. She said they also burned Hatcher's driver's license and passport.
Cortes was driving the Jeep used during the slaying. Surveillance cameras captured video of the Jeep pulling into and leaving the parking garage of Hatcher's apartment.
The owner of the Jeep contacted police after seeing the surveillance images. He testified Tuesday that he let Delgado borrow it.
Cortes said Love was paid for Hatcher's killing with $900 worth of drugs.
Delgado tried to enlist other people she knew to kill Hatcher, but they refused.
Jennifer Escobar testified Monday that Delgado "was really obsessed with" Paniagua. Delgado showed Escobar how she tracked Paniagua's location and read his emails.
Escobar said Delgado offered her $2,000, drugs and a car to put Paniagua in a coma and kill Hatcher. Escobar didn't go to police at the time because she was addicted to drugs, she testified Monday.
"She just wanted to eliminate Kendra Hatcher or even both of them," Escobar said.