‘Predator’ kills 16-year-old when she said she didn’t want to date him, Texas cops say
A 16-year-old girl wanted to break off a “dating relationship” with a 22-year-old “predator,” according to Texas prosecutors, since he had threatened her.
Minutes after she texted Irbin Vargas telling him that she no longer wanted to associate with him on Sept. 12, 2018, she walked out of her Houston home to get into a friend’s car, prosecutors said. As she walked out her door, Vargas “emerge(d) from the shadows,” according to officials.
He ambushed her and shot her in the head, killing her, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a news release. Vargas fled and was later arrested by Houston police officers.
A jury found Vargas guilty of murder, and he was sentenced to 75 years in prison on Dec. 3, Ogg’s office said.
Vargas’ attorney could not be reached for comment.
“...This case is especially tragic because this woman was so young and had so much to live for—we mourn her loss with her family,” Ogg said in a statement.
The teen was prompted to cut off communication with Vargas after she told her family and friends he had threatened her and put a gun to her head, according to prosecutors. The two had been in a “relationship” for about a year, officials said.
“He was a 22-year-old predator who worked to get close to a teenage girl,” Assistant District Attorney Phillip White said in a news release. “Five minutes after she told him that it was over for good, he killed her.”
Court records say an appeal was filed on Dec. 3.
Vargas, who is now 29, will be eligible for parole after 30 years, according to officials.
This story was originally published December 6, 2024 at 10:42 AM with the headline "‘Predator’ kills 16-year-old when she said she didn’t want to date him, Texas cops say."
