Man Throws Estranged Wife Into Lake With Concrete Block Tied, Killing Her

A man from Fort Worth, Texas pleaded guilty to abducting and killing his estranged wife in 2016 and was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday.

Rodolfo “Rudy” Arellano pleaded guilty to capital murder for killing his wife, Elizabeth Pule Arellano—a 28-year-old medical assistant— with whom he had four children. Prosecutor sought death penalty for Arellano but on Wednesday, his lawyers informed them he was willing to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison.

At a hearing Wednesday morning, 36-year-old Arellano made his plea before the State District Judge Robb Catalano. He will make a plea again in early February in front of family and friends of the victim and will be addressed with victim impact statements. His defense attorney believes the plea deal was a correct decision for the case.

On Apr. 16, 2016, a body was pulled out of Lake Worth after some fishermen reported seeing a person falling from the Loop 820 bridge. They described hearing something resembling screams on the way down. After a search, Elizabeth’s body was found. It had a rope tied around her neck which was attached to a 119-pound piece of concrete with a wooden fence post encased in it. Elizabeth, who had gone missing after a night out with her colleagues on April 15, was still wearing her scrubs.

The last anyone heard from Elizabeth was when she called a co-worker to say that she had made it safely to her parents’ home in north Fort Worth. However the next day, her mother found her car abandoned in a nearby area with her keys, purse and cell phone still inside. She reported her missing to the Fort Worth police in the afternoon, oblivious to the fact that her daughter’s body was found just a couple of hours earlier.

Arellano was arrested more than a week later and he initially denied killing his wife. But his phone records and surveillance video footage showed him in the area near Elizabeth’s house around the time of her disappearance. Detectives investigating Elizabeth’s death also learned that Arellano had torn down a wooden fence that had wooden posts anchored in concrete. Concrete chunks, similar to the ones he used to weigh Elizabeth down were found not only in his backyard but also in the bed of his truck.

It was initially believed Elizabeth killed herself by jumping off the bridge but a medical examination later revealed she was a victim of homicide by drowning.

The couple separated after 13 years of marriage and Elizabeth was planning to divorce her husband just before her death.

Prosecutor Allenna Bangs said the guilty plea brought Elizabeth’s family “such a level of peace.” She said, “Elizabeth was a mom and a daughter and a sister and a friend. So knowing that he is in prison for the remainder of his natural life and that is not going to change and knowing the comfort that brought them is what puts us where we are today.”