Man sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing mother of five at Alief car repair shop

HOUSTON, Texas — A Houston man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday after being convicted of murder for fatally stabbing a mother of five in 2009, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“This was a terrible crime when it happened, and no one in law enforcement ever stopped looking for the killer,” Ogg said. “Even after the case was closed, investigators continued to work on it, and when charges were filed, prosecutors were able to seek justice for the victim and her family.”

Jorge Trevino Cardenas, 52, was already in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting a child. He was arrested in 2014 and a sample of his DNA was collected and filed.

On April 24, 2009, Domitila Alvarez, a 38-year-old mother of five, went to her family’s auto repair shop in the Alief area to take care of business. Hours later, family members found her body in the store’s office. She had been stabbed multiple times during an argument with someone with a long knife. Investigators also found bloodstains on the door leading to the office, on security bars in front of the door and on a parked truck outside.

There was no apparent motive for the murder and the trail went cold after police followed up on every lead they had.

In 2021, HPD’s Homicide Cold Case Squad re-examined the evidence and identified Cardenas through his DNA. Tests showed that Cardenas’ DNA matched the DNA on Alvarez’s clothing, on the door, on the security bars and in the truck.

Investigators believe Cardenas cut himself with the knife during the fight and his blood and DNA were mixed with Alvarez’s blood.

Cardenas was charged with murder in January 2023. He was found guilty by a jury on Thursday after a four-day trial and sentenced to life in prison by a judge.

Assistant District Attorney Christopher Condon, head of the District Attorney’s Office Homicide Division, prosecuted the case along with ADA Michael Simons, head of the Trial Bureau.

“DNA doesn’t lie, it doesn’t forget – it waits,” Condon said. “It’s waiting for the technology and the right circumstances to be revealed. There was literally a trail of blood from the victim’s body to Jorge Cardenas.”

Condon noted that a witness who knew Cardenas in 2009 testified that he lived near the store, worked as a security guard near the store and carried a long, fixed-blade knife with a serrated edge. Medical experts testified that the knife used to kill Alvarez was a long blade with a serrated edge.

Cardenas must serve at least 30 years in prison before being eligible for parole.