Border Patrol Agent Accused of Stabbing Wife to Death, Leaving Their Children Home Alone Before Trying to Drive Away With Her Body

A late-night domestic disturbance in Texas ended in tragedy when a 28-year-old mother was fatally stabbed. Police say her husband, an off-duty Border Patrol agent, was stopped while driving away with her body inside the vehicle. Their two children were left alone at home, where officers later found them safe.

Abel Garza, 30, was arrested on October 28, 2026, in Laredo, Texas, and charged with murder in connection with the death of his wife, Mayra Alejandra Landeros, 28. According to the Laredo Police Department, officers were responding to reports of a domestic disturbance at a home on Texana Street at approximately 2:45 a.m. when the investigation took an unexpected turn. A man had reportedly been knocking on neighbors’ doors and asking for help. As officers arrived in the area, a police drone spotted a vehicle leaving the neighborhood, prompting officers to stop it.

Inside the vehicle, officers discovered Landeros lying on the floor of the back seat with multiple stab wounds. She was still alive when police found her and was rushed to a nearby hospital, but she later died from her injuries. Authorities identified Garza as the driver and arrested him. Police have not publicly established exactly what happened inside the home before the stabbing, but investigators are treating the case as domestic violence. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation.

What made the case even more heartbreaking was that the couple’s two children had been left inside the home while the incident unfolded. Officers returned to the residence and conducted an emergency search after learning that children might still be there. They found both youngsters safe and unharmed. Garza now faces two counts of child endangerment and two counts of child abandonment, in addition to the murder charge. The allegations involving the children concern their safety and the circumstances in which they were allegedly left without adult supervision.

Investigators also discovered that this was not the first time Garza had faced allegations involving domestic violence. According to local reporting, he was arrested in January 2026 after allegedly pointing a firearm at a woman during a domestic disturbance on the same street. He was subsequently arrested again in February on charges that included unlawful restraint, interfering with an emergency request for assistance and violating a protective or bond order. Those earlier cases are separate from the current murder prosecution, but they have become part of the public record surrounding the investigation.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that Garza was an off-duty Border Patrol agent assigned to the Laredo Sector at the time of the incident. The agency said its Office of Professional Responsibility was reviewing the case. Garza was booked into the Webb County Jail, where his bond was reported at $1.5 million in Webb County Sheriff’s Office records cited by Law&Crime. The charges against him include one count of murder, two counts of child endangerment, two counts of child abandonment, aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, interfering with an emergency request for assistance and violating a protective order.

For Landeros’ family, the investigation now centers on understanding what happened during the final hours of her life and obtaining justice for a young mother whose death has left two children without their mother. The children were found physically safe, but the long-term impact of losing a parent under such circumstances remains unknown. Garza has been accused of serious crimes, but the allegations must still be addressed through the court system. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: Law&Crime