Travis County Jury Sentences Man to 70 Years for 2024 Austin Apartment Murder

A Travis County jury has found a man guilty of murder in the 2024 shooting death of a north Austin resident, sentencing him to 70 years in prison, prosecutors announced.

Carlos Maldonado-Martinez, 38, was convicted Thursday in the killing of 35-year-old Wilfredo Beneitez-Jimenez and will serve his sentence in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

According to the Travis County District Attorney's Office, Beneitez-Jimenez was shot seven times while sitting in the living room of his apartment on May 22, 2024.

Investigators said Maldonado-Martinez and co-defendant Victor Maldonado-Villalobos planned the killing and carried it out together.

Surveillance footage from the apartment complex played a key role in the investigation, prosecutors said. The video showed the suspects' vehicle traveling through the complex, captured three suspects outside the victim's apartment, and recorded the sound of gunfire.

Authorities also linked the vehicle used in the shooting to Maldonado-Martinez.

Following his arrest on June 12, 2024, Maldonado-Martinez confessed to investigators, admitting his role in the shooting and identifying his alleged accomplices, according to prosecutors. A Travis County grand jury indicted him on a murder charge two months later.

Maldonado-Villalobos, the remaining co-defendant, is scheduled to stand trial in September.

"Our office hopes this conviction honors the victim, whose life was tragically cut short, and that it continues to help his family heal," Travis County District Attorney José Garza said in a statement.

The investigation remains active as prosecutors prepare for the upcoming trial of the second defendant.