Wife, lover accused of murdering husband to stand trial Monday

Nearly three years after 26-year-old Angel Esteves was shot and killed in Ontario, his wife and her boyfriend are set to stand trial for his murder.

Jury selection is set to begin Monday in West Valley Superior Court in the murder trial of Ingrid Esteves, 24, and Rafael Quiroz, 21, who are accused of carrying out the murder on Aug. 1, 2006.

Prosecutors say Ingrid Esteves told her husband of four years to meet her in the area of D Street and Parkside Avenue.

When Angel Esteves arrived, Rafael Quiroz, of Temple City, ambushed his car and shot and killed him, prosecutors say.

Deputy District Attorney Mike Dowd said he expects jury selection to last the entire week, and attorneys' opening statements will likely begin on May 4 or May 5.

Dowd said the witnesses he intends to call during the trial include neighbors who heard the gunshots the night of the incident, and police officers and others involved in investigating the killing.

Ingrid Esteves and Quiroz remained jailed Friday in lieu of $1 million bail at Wast Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Angel and Ingrid Esteves, of San Bernardino, had one child together -- a son who was about two years old at the time of his father's death, Dowd said.

Note: I've included one of the initial stories on the case below this map.

View Angel Esteves murder in a larger map

...

Wife had lover kill husband, authorities say

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA) - Friday, August 4, 2006

Author: Rod Leveque, Staff Writer

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A cheating wife and her boyfriend were charged with murder on Friday in connection with the fatal shooting of her husband.

Authorities say Ingrid Esteves, 21, lured her husband of four years to an isolated area in south Ontario late Tuesday night for a confrontation with her 18-year-old lover, who was waiting with a gun.

"Evidently this is their way of getting a divorce," Deputy District Attorney Michael Dowd said.

Police found the husband, Angel Esteves, 26, of San Bernardino, in a car suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper body early Wednesday morning. He later died at a hospital.

Ingrid Esteves, of San Bernardino, and Rafael Quiroz, of Temple City, were arrested later that day.

The comely, black-haired woman and her baby-faced boyfriend were led into West Valley Superior Court on Friday looking haggard from their two days in jail.

Both were handcuffed and wearing matching orange jail jumpsuits.

They pleaded not guilty to murder.

Judge Raymond Youngquist appointed lawyers to represent them, set their bail at $1 million each and ordered them to return to court Aug. 10.

Ontario police say the woman and Quiroz first met at an Ontario warehouse where they both worked.

They were apparently out together Tuesday night and decided to move forward on a plan to kill the husband, Detective David McBride said.

Police believe the woman called her husband and asked him to meet her near D Street and Parkside Avenue.

When he arrived, Quiroz shot him, police said.

Police went to the area after they received a report of a possible burglary and found Angel Esteves bleeding in his car.

He was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where he died.

McBride said police have not recovered the gun used to kill the man.

The shooting appears to have been planned, and probably wasn't the result of an argument or the heat of passion, the detective said.

He said officers are investigating all possible motives, however, including whether the husband had life insurance.

Dowd said more charges could be filed against the couple as the investigation progresses.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call Detective Alex Rodriguez at (909) 395-2513.