Fidel Baquin strangled and dismembered his wife Stephanie Hernández

• Fidel Baquin is accused of strangling and dismembering his common-law wife.
• Stephanie Hernandez’s body was found in several black garbage bags.
• The tragedy occurred more than a year ago and science helped solve the case.

Fidel Baquin was arrested in Texas, accused of murdering his common-law wife, Stephanie Marie Hernández. Her remains were found in several trash bags. The Homicide Division of the Houston Police Department (HPD) captured the Hispanic man a year after the brutal crime.

Fidel Baquin, 33, will face his criminal trial before Judge Robert Johnson of the 177th Criminal District Court in Harris County. According to the Texas State Penal Code the charge of murder is punishable by 20 to 99 years in prison.

Fidel Baquin strangled his wife and threw her body parts into the street

The legal documents of the case, consulted by MundoNow, detail that Mrs. Stephanie Marie Hernández, 43, and her murderer Fidel Baquin were not legally married. However, they were considered common-law spouses in Texas because if a couple lives together for at least two years at the same address, it’s considered a common-law marriage.

On Sunday, September 11, 2021, several people called the HPD emergency number to report black garbage bags that were dumped on the street gave off a putrid smell and were covered in flies.

A patrol officer discovers the remains of Stephanie Marie Hernández

An HPD patrol car arrived at 10:50 a.m. that Sunday at the intersection of Sandpiper Drive and West Airport Boulevard, in southwest Houston, to investigate the mysterious report from neighbors. Witnesses told the officer that those bags were not there in the early morning.

The HPD officer walked over to check the contents of at least three black bags covered in flies and was shocked. Upon opening the bags he found the remains of a Hispanic woman. The officer immediately reported the discovery of her body.

Fidel Baquin’s name emerges in the case

Detectives from the HPD Homicide Division responded to the scene to conduct initial investigations into the case. At that time, the name of Hispanic immigrant Fidel Baquin had not yet come up in the investigation. The woman was identified as Stephanie Marie Hernandez.

During the initial investigation, the detectives of the Homicide Division learned from the forensic doctors that Stephanie Marie Hernández had been strangled with some type of cord. She had been dead for several hours before she was dumped on the street in garbage bags.

Stephanie Marie Hernández’s murderer is captured with the help of science

Detectives learned that Stephanie Marie Hernández had a romantic relationship with Fidel Baquin, an immigrant from Guatemala, and that they lived together in an apartment in southwest Houston.

Detectives found samples of Fidel Baquin’s DNA on the black bags and on the woman’s body. Forensic science helped HPD and, based on that evidence, they were able to and arrest the Guatemalan immigrant who is being held in the Harris County jail.

The last clue was the string trimmer cord

HPD detectives, with the assistance of forensic experts, discovered fibers from an industrial-type string trimmer cord around the woman’s neck. Fidel Baquin worked in landscaping.

The detectives got a warrant to search the apartment that Fidel Baquin shared with Stephanie Marie Hernández. In their home there were remains of a rope similar to the ones she had around her neck. That was the last bit of evidence that incriminated the Guatemalan.