Corpus Christi woman sentenced in heinous 2018 Edinburg double homicide

EDINBURG — A 46-year-old Corpus Christi woman involved in the heinous 2018 double homicide of a 73-year-old woman and her 53-year-old son has been sentenced.

Irene Navejar, who was 45-year-old Gabriel Keith Escalante’s co-defendant, was sentenced to five years in prison with credit for time served after pleading guilty to tampering with physical evidence with intent to impair.

Escalante was sentenced to life in prison without parole on June 6, 2022, for the drug-fueled murders of Olivia and Alejandro Salinas, who he claimed was his friend, in Edinburg.

The motive for the murders was determined to be theft. Escalante learned that the two had won a settlement following a traffic accident and decided to rob them.

Escalante beat Alejandro to death and rolled his body in a carpet before leaving his body on the Salinas property. He then beat Olivia, who was in a wheelchair following a heart attack that left the right side of her body without motor functions, and placed her in an abandoned vehicle on the property with a plastic bag over her head where she suffocated.

As part of the plea agreement, Navejar had her murder and capital murder charges dropped.

State District Judge Luis M. Singleterry said during the hearing that he was hesitant to follow through on the plea deal because Navejar skipped out on the prior plea hearing, but he later learned she didn’t have the funds to come into town and decided to honor the deal.

The court also heard that Navejar had been threatened by Escalante during the incident which caused her to go along with his crimes, but she did fail to report the felony.

Navejar had been jailed from April 30, 2018 up until July 8, 2022. She also testified against Escalante during his trial in 2022.

Following the sentencing, Olivia’s daughter, Elda Ivette Salinas Lara, read a victim impact statement where she spoke of her mother and the medical assistance she needed.

“She needed care 24/7,” Lara said. “They have taken every future from us and her grandkids.

“We cannot comprehend how someone could do those evil things…”

When given the opportunity to respond, Navejar apologized.

“I’m very sorry for everything that’s happened,” Navejar said. “I wish I was able to do something.”

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