A Texas man accused of bludgeoning two homeless men with a sledgehammer in fatal attacks just one month apart has been indicted on murder charges.
Adelaido Amaya Esparza has been in custody since Nov. 23, 2020, just days after Donald Slusser was found beaten to death near a strip mall in Dallas’ Oak Cliff section. The 60-year-old was suffering serious head injuries at the time and was pronounced dead a short time later.
Surveillance video shows Slusser sleeping on the ground beneath a blanket the night of Nov. 20 when a man suddenly strikes him “several times with a full-size sledgehammer,” according to a police affidavit obtained by the Dallas Morning-News. It also captured the suspect’s fleeing Honda SUV, which officers then used to track down Esparza.
Authorities found Bill Billmeier Jr. bludgeoned to death around 4:30 a.m. on Oct 20 at a Dart bus stop, located about a mile away from where Slusser was found.
Police said in the affidavit that surveillance footage from a nearby business captured a person repeatedly hit Billmeier with an object, but that the camera was so far away that “it was impossible to identify” the assailant.
Esparza, who was initially taken into custody on charges including failing to signal a lane change and an expired driver’s license, has denied being involved in the killings. The Dallas-Morning News on Monday reported he was indicted on murder charges in both cases at the end of December.
Authorities said they recovered an old sledgehammer like the ones used in the attacks from Esparza’s SUV. What’s more, someone who has “a close relationship” with the suspect was shown images of Slusser’s attacker and identified that person as Esparza, according to the affidavit.
