EP. 262 - TEXAS: A SISTER’S LOVE: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MARIA JIMENEZ-RODRIGUEZ

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Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children.

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Today's story brings us to Houston, Texas in June of 2018

29-year-old Maria Jimenez-Rodriguez was a responsible woman. She always showed up to work, and she always put her three-year-old daughter before anything else. But that summer, out of nowhere, Maria vanished. Her family immediately knew something was wrong, and her sister Gloria would stop at nothing to get answers about her disappearance. Gloria's fight for justice eventually led to a murder conviction. But to this day, there's still one question that hasn't been answered. Where are Maria's remains? So, this is Maria's story. I'm Courtney Browen.

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And I'm Colin Browen.

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And you're listening to Murder In America.

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On Monday, June 21, 2018, Brenda Lopez, a paralegal at Millage Law Group in Houston, Texas, heard her phone go off. When she picked it up, she already had a feeling she knew who it was from. Her coworker and close friend, Maria Jimenez-Rodriguez.

Every day when Brenda showed up to work, Maria was already there, getting ahead of schedule and organizing her things for the day. But that morning, Maria hadn't arrived. Instead, she sent Brenda and her boss, Samuel Milledge, the same simple text at 8:57 a.m., three minutes before the scheduled start of her shift.

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Good morning. I'm running late, stuck in traffic.

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In the office, there was a strict policy that if you were going to be late, you were to report it to your supervisor at least 30 minutes before the start of your shift. In the six years Maria and Brenda had been working together, Maria had never broken that rule. She was always at least 15 to 20 minutes early, already happily working and chatting away when her start time rolled around.

If Maria had been running late, she would have known that and texted well before 8.57.

Usually, she dropped her daughter, Destiny, off at the babysitter's around 8 a.m. and then made the 20-30 minute drive to the office. Which is why, immediately after getting that text, Brenda got a sinking feeling. At first, she wondered if maybe Destiny had gotten sick or something had fallen through with the babysitter. The only reason she could think of Maria missing work without warning was taking care of her daughter. Destiny was just 3 years old, and she was Maria's whole world. Brenda told Unsolved Mysteries, she was an excellent mom. One of her biggest dreams was to get pregnant, and when she finally got pregnant and Destiny was born, she was a fully dedicated mom. She loved Destiny. She went on to describe Maria as hard-working, reliable, and a devoted mother who always put Destiny first. And that came with challenges.

Destiny suffered from a genetic disorder that affected her muscles and depleted her energy quickly. It required frequent doctor's appointments and patients and care at home. But Maria never complained. She worked extremely hard to provide a good and stable life for her little family. At just 23, she had become a paralegal and was actually in the process of studying for the bar to become a full-fledged lawyer, all while raising Destiny on her own. She and her husband, Jose Rodriguez, had separated sometime in 2017, leaving Maria to navigate single parenthood. But she took to it well. Not only did she continue pursuing her education and work to give Destiny all the fun and love a child could possibly desire, but she helped take care of her parents and siblings as well. She frequently took her elderly father to doctors appointments, serving as an advocate for him, as well as a translator. She was close with her sister, then went out of her way to catch up with her every single day.

Gloria told news outlets that Maria always had a smile on her face. It's one reason why she loved the gym so much and excelled there. Even when things got tough, she had a way of smiling, laughing, and pushing through. Maria was someone you wanted in your corner, a woman who seemed to be able to do it all.