Raul Cortez Murders 4 In Texas

Raul Cortez was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for four murders

According to court documents Eddie Williams, Javier Cortez, and Raul Cortez would force the way into the home of Rosa Barbosa who owned a check cashing business. Once inside they demanded the codes to the alarm system and the keys to the business. Rosa Barbosa would be shot and killed

When the men were leaving three more people would enter: Mark Barbosa (25) entered the home with friends Matt Self (17) and Austin York (18). The three were forced into a bedroom where they would be fatally shot.

Raul Cortez would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

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Raul Cortez Case

Cortez, his brother Javier, and Eddie Williams developed a plan to take money from Rosa Barbosa, who worked as a cashier at Cliff's Check Cashing. The plan ended on March 12, 2004, at Rosa's house, with quadruple homicide—Rosa, her nephew Mark Barbosa, and Mark's two friends York and Matt Self each died after being shot in the head.

Several individuals confessed to the murders over the course of approximately three years, but all of them were eventually excluded as suspects by investigators. The murders remained unsolved until May 2007, when Williams's common-law wife informed police that Williams knew who committed the offense. After Williams's father died, Williams told his wife that Javier and Cortez committed the murders. Williams had been friends with Javier and, in the past, Williams had sold marijuana for him. Javier had introduced Williams to his brother Cortez. Williams voluntarily accompanied investigators to the police station, where his confession began. Williams informed investigators that he and the Cortez brothers were involved in the offense. At first, Williams minimized his role but, in the end, he took responsibility for two of the murders.

At Cortez's trial, Williams testified about the events surrounding the execution-style murders. Williams was charged with capital murder and did not have any agreement with the State in exchange for his testimony.

About two weeks before the offense, Williams accompanied Cortez to a pawn shop where Cortez purchased a chrome .25 caliber automatic handgun. They also stopped at a nearby "spy shop" where Cortez purchased handcuffs. Williams returned to the pawn shop with Cortez to pick up the gun after the requisite waiting period passed. At some point before the offense, Cortez tested the gun by shooting it at the ceiling in his house. Javier was stationed outside in the back yard to determine if he could hear the shot.

On the day of the offense, Javier and Cortez picked up Williams at home in Javier's white, four-door Cavalier and went to Cortez's house. Cortez took out a black pistol-grip shotgun, a .38 caliber revolver, and a chrome .380 automatic handgun. Cortez gave the .380 to Williams and told him that it did not work. The three hung out and smoked marijuana. Javier then asked Williams if he wanted to go with them to a woman's (Rosa's) house and rob her. Javier told Williams that he had been watching Rosa for a while and knew that she would take a blue money bag home from Cliff's Check Cashing to cash checks for illegal immigrants from Mexico. Javier had followed Rosa home the night before the offense and knew that she had a car, which Williams indicated would be used as a getaway car. Javier and Cortez instructed Williams about his role—Williams was to knock on Rosa's door and inquire about a lost puppy. Williams explained his reasons for participating in the offense—he believed that Rosa would have "thousands," and he needed money.

The three set out for Rosa's house on foot. Javier and Williams took one route while Cortez took a separate route. Cortez carried the .38, the .25, plastic zip ties, latex gloves, duct tape, and masks in a black gym bag. Cortez was already at Rosa's house when Javier and Williams arrived. Javier and Cortez then started to put on the latex gloves and masks. Williams noticed that they also put on black gloves over the latex gloves. Cortez carried the .25, Javier had the .38., and Williams had the .380. Williams knocked on the door and, when Rosa answered, he asked her if she had seen his lost puppy. Cortez and Javier ran around Williams and pushed Rosa down inside the house. Williams observed that Rosa was handcuffed when Javier closed the door. Cortez and Javier then picked up Rosa, took her to her bedroom, and pushed her onto the bed. Rosa's head hit the bed, and she fell to the floor. Cortez taped Rosa's hands behind her back and removed the handcuffs. When Javier asked Rosa where the money was, she told them she did not have any money. Javier then asked Rosa for her alarm pin number and keys to Cliff's Check Cashing. Williams testified that Rosa gave them the keys and code. Williams heard a "pop" after Cortez "disappeared" into Rosa's room.

When Cortez returned to the living room, the three boys-Mark, York, and Self, unexpectedly entered the front door. Cortez "opened fire." Two of the boys headed towards Mark's bedroom, while one went out the front door. Cortez brought the boy back in and put him in Mark's room. Cortez gave Williams the .25, took the .38 from Javier, and ordered Williams to shoot the boys. Williams shot Mark once in the head and shot the other boy twice-once on the shoulder and once in the head. Williams handed the gun back to Cortez, and Cortez shot the third boy in the head. Williams and Javier headed out to Self's truck, which was in the driveway, and heard more shots coming from the house before Cortez exited.

Williams testified that, at some point during the offense, Cortez had taken Williams's latex gloves because Cortez's got "busted."

Javier drove the three to Cliff's Check Cashing in Self's truck. Javier went inside and ran back outside when the alarm sounded. Javier could not find the safe. Javier told them that Rosa gave them a false alarm code.

Javier then drove them to Cortez's house. Javier and Williams got into Javier's car and followed Cortez, who took over driving Self's truck. Williams asked Javier to drop him off at home, but Javier continued to follow Cortez. They headed south towards Dallas on Highway 75. Javier said, "[W]e'll take this to our grave." Cortez then abandoned the truck in an apartment complex after wiping his fingerprints from the truck. Cortez sat behind Williams in Javier's car and, while they were on the highway, Cortez broke the guns down and threw the pieces out the window. Javier then took Williams home.

Mark's brother and his friend arrived at Rosa's house shortly after the offense and discovered the bodies. Rosa was in her bedroom lying face down on the floor. She had red duct tape around her mouth and a tightened zip-tie around her neck. Her hands were not bound. Mark, York, and Self were in Mark's bedroom. Mark was on his bed with his head hanging toward the floor. York was slumped over at the end of Mark's bed. Self was on the floor near York. Mark's brother observed that Self had a gunshot wound to the head, which dislodged one of his eyes from the socket. Self was still breathing, however, and the paramedics were able to transport him by helicopter to Baylor Hospital. Self later died after his parents decided to remove him from life support.

The Collin County medical examiner testified that there was evidence that Rosa's hands had been bound and that she had been strangled. He stated that Rosa had a blunt-force injury to the left side of her face. She had a gun-shot wound at the back of her head on the left side. The medical examiner also discovered pieces of latex glove stuck to the duct tape that had been wrapped around her head and mouth. The medical examiner testified that York had three gun-shot wounds. One was located at the back-left of York's head. The medical examiner recovered an intermediate caliber bullet that had a blue coating. The second wound was on the right back-side of York's neck, and the third wound was on York's back-right shoulder area. The medical examiner testified that the bullets from those wounds were from a smaller caliber gun. The medical examiner discovered two wounds on Mark-one in the back of his head and one in his right arm. The one in Mark's head came from a smaller caliber gun than the one in the arm. The bullet recovered by the medical examiner from Mark's arm also had a blue coating.

The Dallas County medical examiner testified that Self had a gunshot wound to the back right side of his head. The medical examiner recovered a deformed medium caliber bullet with a blue coating from Self's right lower eyelid.

Including the bullets recovered during the autopsies, investigators recovered some other bullets and shell casings from the crime scene. In all, they recovered five .25 caliber shell

casings, six fired .25 caliber bullets, and three fired .38 caliber bullets. A ballistics examiner testified that the .38 bullets had a blue nylon coating. The five .25 caliber casings, according to the examiner, had been fired from the same weapon. Additionally, the five .25 bullets had been fired from the same weapon. After Williams's confession, investigators went to the home that Cortez had lived in at the time of the offense to determine whether there was any evidence of the "test" bullet that Williams said that Cortez had fired into the ceiling with the .25 Cortez had purchased from the pawn shop. They discovered a hole in the ceiling that had been patched and, in the hole, they found a .25 caliber bullet lodged in plywood. The ballistics examiner matched that bullet with the others recovered during the autopsies and concluded that they had all been fired from the same weapon.

Cortez could not be excluded as a contributor of the DNA on the pieces of latex glove that had been stuck to the duct tape around Rosa's head. Dr. Rick Staub, testifying for the State, maintained that the most discriminating sample taken from the latex pieces showed that only one in 14,910 or 1/149th of the Southwest Hispanic population could be possible contributors. Dr. Staub identified Cortez, a member of the Southwest Hispanic population, as a possible contributor. And regarding another sample, only one in 2,540 of the Southwest Hispanic population could be a contributor, and Dr. Staub identified Cortez as a contributor. Finally, regarding another sample, only one in 1,122 or 1/11th of the Southwest Hispanic population could be a contributor. Dr. Staub again identified Cortez as a possible contributor.

When investigating Williams's account, law enforcement officers asked Williams to guide them to the relevant places that would connect him to Cortez, Javier, and the offense. Williams showed them the Cortez brothers' parents' house, Cortez's house and workplace at the time of the offense, Javier's home at the time of the offense, the route Williams and Javier took to Rosa's house, the parking space in the apartment complex where Cortez abandoned Self's truck, the pawn shop where Cortez purchased the .25, and the Spy Center shop where Cortez purchased the handcuffs.

Investigators were also able to confirm several facts and circumstances relating to the offense. Among other things, they were able to verify that Cortez had purchased a .25 caliber handgun from the pawnshop in February 2004, five weeks before the murders. They also determined that Cortez had lived at the apartment complex where Cortez abandoned Self's truck. Self's truck had been parked across from Cortez's old apartment unit. Investigators also confirmed that Javier owned a white Cavalier at the time of the offense. Finally, they established that Cortez and Javier had both been customers of Cliff's Check Cashing.

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