Jody Hernandez

Jody Hernandez was a 31-year-old Hispanic woman from San Antonio, Texas, who, despite battling severe chronic illnesses, held aspirations for a brighter future. She suffered from a range of health problems, including Crohn's disease and depression, which left her in constant and tremendous physical pain. Yet, Jody dreamed of returning to school to earn a master's degree and become a nurse-practitioner. A year before her death, she created a crowdfunding page to seek financial help for her medical expenses and for a trip to her native California to address family matters. She was married to her high school sweetheart, Daniel Hernandez.

The painful struggle for Jody ended on the afternoon of Saturday, May 9, 2015. Shortly before 5 p.m., Bexar County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to her home in the 4700 block of Dapple Drive in Northeast Bexar County. When they arrived, her husband, Daniel Enrique Hernandez, then 33, emerged from the house with his hands up. According to an arrest affidavit, he told the officers, "She asked me to do it, sir. I shot her."

Inside the home, deputies discovered Jody on a bed in the living room. A handgun was resting on her chest. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office later determined her cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest and ruled the manner of death a homicide. Daniel Hernandez told investigators that his wife had been suffering immensely from her illnesses and wanted to die but was too afraid to take her own life. He claimed it was a "mercy killing" and that he shot her at her own request to end her pain.

Daniel, a U.S. Army combat medic and licensed vocational nurse working at the San Antonio Military Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, was arrested and initially charged with murder. He was booked into the Bexar County jail on a $75,000 bond. The investigation by the Bexar County Sheriff's Office soon uncovered Jody's crowdfunding page. While the page did not mention any wish to die, it did provide documentation that corroborated her husband's claims about the severity and duration of her health issues.

The case took a significant turn when Jody's own family came forward. They confirmed the extent of her suffering, revealing that she had been despondent, depressed, and had made several previous suicide attempts. They told prosecutors they did not want Daniel, her husband since they were high school sweethearts, to be punished for her death. This support, combined with the evidence of Jody's long-standing health battles, led the district attorney's office to reconsider the murder charge.

In July 2016, more than a year after Jody's death, the case reached a controversial conclusion. District Attorney Nico LaHood, who called the situation unique in his 14-year career, offered a plea bargain. He stated that he did not believe Daniel Hernandez, a man with no criminal history and a record of honorable military service, had the "mental intent to commit a depraved heart murder." Daniel's attorney, Tylden Shaeffer, asserted that his client's actions, while tragic, were "absolutely done out of love."

Daniel Hernandez pleaded guilty to a lesser charge under a Texas statute for assisted suicide. A judge accepted the plea deal, and he was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay a $1,500 fine. He served no jail time. The outcome was unusual, as legal experts noted that assisted suicide cases are very rare in Texas, and Jody's condition was not considered terminal. The case, as of July 2016, is considered closed.