6/10/2014
Lubbock man charged with murder in wife's death after body found in Big Spring
Epifanio Guzman also accused of inappropriately touching female family member
E. Guzman
A 43-year-old Lubbock man admitted to strangling his wife in their Lubbock home then driving her body to Big Spring where he planned to kill his mother’s husband, Lubbock County court records show.
Epifanio Jose Guzman was taken Friday to the Lubbock County Detention Center where he is being held on felony counts of murder and indecency with a child. His bond is set at $1 million for murder and $750,000 for indecency.
Guzman told investigators he killed his wife, 41-year-old Rachel Guzman, May 30 during an argument at their home in the 2100 block of South Loop 289. He said he strangled her from behind until she went limp, laid her body in their bed and slept beside her.
He said the next day he saw there was blood coming from her mouth.
He wrapped his wife’s body in a red sleeping bag, loaded her into his 2002 Saturn Vue, and headed to Big Spring, where family members including his mother and her husband, Alvino Gutierrez, live.
Guzman said he dumped his wife’s body in a secluded area and drove to his mother’s house where he planned to kill Gutierrez. However, he said could not get Gutierrez alone.
The family of Rachel Guzman reported her disappearance to police Tuesday.
Her brother, Daniel Arispe, who lived with the couple, said he last saw his sister alive about 11:30 p.m. May 30. He said his sister and her husband were arguing about an indecency with a child charge Epifanio Guzman was facing. A 7-year-old family member accused him of touching her genitals over her clothes earlier this year.
Initially, family members thought Rachel Guzman went on the run with her husband.
They grew suspicious when Rachel’s employer, Covenant Medical Center Advising, informed them Monday she hadn’t called in or showed up at work.
They entered the couple’s room and found it in disarray, which was unusual because they said Rachel Guzman was a clean person. They found her belongings were still there but her husband’s possessions were missing. They also found blood on the couple’s bed.
It wasn’t until Rachel Guzman’s employer called Tuesday that they called police.
Arispe said he called their cousin in Big Spring who told him Epifanio Guzman stopped by her apartment Tuesday. She said he had a cut on his face that looked as if he had been in a fight.
In Big Spring, Epifanio Guzman told his niece he left Lubbock because he was tired of being attacked by his wife. He said he believed she was cheating on him and she had been saving money to go on a trip with a friend.
Big Spring authorities found Rachel Guzman’s body Wednesday in a remote location, according to a Lubbock Police Department news release.
Guzman was arrested the same day in Big Spring on the indecency with a child warrant.
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