The Dark Legacy of Juan Segundo

A Serial Killer's Beginnings

On January 25, 1963, in the bustling city of Los Angeles, California, Juan Ramon Segundo Meza came into the world. A year into his life, his mother, seeking refuge from an abusive husband, relocated with Juan and his two brothers to El Paso, Texas. There, they found themselves in a small apartment devoid of running water. The hardships of their new life were unrelenting. Their mother, often absent for days, left the young boys to fend for themselves. It was not uncommon for Segundo's eight-year-old brother to scavenge for food in trash bins. The authorities eventually intervened, placing the brothers in an orphanage, but soon they were back with their mother, now married to an alcoholic who perpetuated the cycle of abuse.

Segundo’s early years were fraught with challenges beyond the emotional and physical neglect. As a small child, he suffered a traumatic fall down some stairs, leaving him with convulsions and a marked change in behavior. His brother described him as being perpetually "in a daze" and "kind of slow". This incident, coupled with an incomplete education that ended in the seventh grade, set the stage for a troubled life.

Vanessa Villa's Tragic End

Vanessa Villa, born on October 3, 1974, was a diligent and beloved 11-year-old living in Fort Worth, Texas, with her mother and two siblings. Despite not mastering English, she excelled at school and was cherished by the staff. Yet, Vanessa’s young heart was heavy with fear, aware of the high crime rate in her neighborhood. In a poignant plea for safety, she wrote a note asking her mother to "take me from this place," a message discovered only after her untimely death.

On August 3, 1986, Vanessa had spent her Sunday working at a Dallas flea market. Upon returning to her Fort Worth home, her family left briefly, unaware of the horror that would unfold. During their absence, Juan Segundo broke into their home. The family's initial belief was that they were gone for twenty minutes, but later reports suggested it could have been closer to an hour. When they returned, Vanessa's mother stumbled upon a devastating scene—Vanessa lay unconscious in her bedroom. Despite the presence of three cousins asleep in the home during the attack, no one had witnessed the crime.

Vanessa was rushed to a local hospital, but her life slipped away in the early hours of August 4. The tragedy shook the community, and a week later, on August 10, a wake was held at the Villa home. Disturbingly, Segundo, known to the family through his ex-wife's connection with Vanessa's mother, attended the ceremony, concealing his role in their sorrow.

A String of Crimes

Juan Segundo’s criminal activities did not halt with Vanessa’s murder. On October 6, 1987, a woman awoke to find Segundo assaulting her. When her daughter stirred from sleep, Segundo fled. The daughter recognized him as a former coworker, leading to his arrest. In June 1988, he was sentenced to ten years for burglary, only to be paroled in July 1989. Undeterred by his past, in 1990, Segundo broke into another woman’s home, this time naked. When she awoke, he attempted to strangle her before making a dramatic escape through a second-story window. His notoriety in the neighborhood aided his identification, and he was sent back to prison until his parole in 1993.

The mid-1990s saw Segundo linked to three unsolved murders through DNA evidence:

• Melissa Badillo, age 23, was kidnapped and murdered in September 1994. Her case saw resolution in 2010, long after Segundo’s death row sentence.
• Francis Williams, a known prostitute, was found dead in a drainage ditch on November 15, 1994. Her murder was connected to Segundo before his capital trial.
• Maria Reyna Navarro, 32, was abducted on June 16, 1995. Her body surfaced the next day in Buck Sansom Park, with DNA linking Segundo to the crime in December 2005.

After serving five years for driving while intoxicated, Segundo was paroled in 2000 and briefly supervised before settling with his brother in Keene, Texas. There, he attempted to rebuild his life, marrying a woman from his church in 2001 and starting a lawn care business. Despite his efforts, the shadow of his past loomed large.

The Investigation and Trial

Segundo’s eventual downfall was precipitated by forensic advancements. While imprisoned, his DNA was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a database matching convict DNA with evidence from unsolved crimes. In early 2005, Fort Worth investigators re-examining cold cases submitted evidence from Vanessa Villa’s murder into CODIS. The match was undeniable—Segundo's DNA was the key to solving Vanessa’s murder.

The trial that followed featured testimony from a deputy chief medical examiner, a DNA expert, a child sexual abuse specialist, and the director of CODIS. Prosecutors hinted at Segundo's involvement in other unsolved crimes, even bringing in his ex-wife to testify about a night in 1983 when Segundo returned home covered in blood. She discovered a purse and panties in his car, but the origins remained a mystery. Defense attorneys attempted to challenge the evidence handling, but their efforts fell short. Segundo was found guilty of Vanessa Villa’s murder.

During sentencing, the prosecution paraded past victims of Segundo’s assaults and a new witness—a 21-year-old woman who revealed that as a child, Segundo had repeatedly abused her. Despite Segundo’s defense highlighting his traumatic childhood, head injury, and low IQ, the jury saw no mitigating factors warranting life imprisonment over death. Segundo was sentenced to death.

The Final Verdict

Segundo's legal battles continued until February 2017, when his final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied. An execution date was set for October 10, 2018, but a stay was issued by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals just days before, due to concerns about the assessment of intellectual disability in Texas.

Finally, on May 25, 2022, his sentence was commuted to life in prison. Segundo was deemed intellectually disabled according to the latest criteria from the American Psychiatric Association and the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Eligible for parole in 2026, he remains incarcerated at the Coffield Unit in Tennessee Colony, Texas.

Sources

• Death Row Information
• "Family pleads for mercy for convicted child killer." Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
• "Caught Cold." Dallas Observer.
• "Girl wrote secret cry for help before death." Wichita Falls Record News.
• "Man indicted in 19-year-old crime." Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
• "Texas court stays Fort Worth man's execution over claims of intellectual disability." Houston Chronicle.
• "After 19 years, a chance for justice." Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
• "Convicted felon charged with 1995 slaying." Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
• "Police say DNA links 1994 slaying of 23-year-old woman to death row inmate." Lubbock Avalanche.
• "3 women recount killer's previous assaults." Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
• "Testimony in Segundo trial takes focus to forensic science, DNA." Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
• "Jury sentences Segundo to be executed." Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
• "Texas court halts Juan Segundo execution amid questions of intellectual disability." The Texas Tribune.
• "Execution dates for 2 Fort Worth inmates on death row." US News.
• "Texas appeals court puts execution on hold." The New York Times.
• "Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rules serial murderer ineligible for death penalty." CBS DFW.

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