Stella Priscilla Perez, a 24-year-old woman from Wichita Falls, Texas, was killed on October 5, 2004 during an argument with her boyfriend, 28-year-old Steven Ray Gaitan. Prosecutors said Gaitan shot Perez; he told investigators he did not know she was pregnant and had intended only to intimidate her with the gun. Stella’s 9-year-old son testified he saw Gaitan with the gun before the shooting, which occurred on the boy’s birthday.

The case went to trial and Gaitan was convicted of murder. The jury rejected a capital murder charge, prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, and Gaitan received a life sentence with no parole for 30 years. Stella was remembered by family and friends as a caring, dedicated mother to her two young sons, Xavier Perez and Christian Ramirez. Her funeral was held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church and she was buried at Sacred Heart Cemetery.