HOUSTON – A 20-year-old man was sentenced to 25 years in prison last Wednesday for the death of his prom date.
A jury found Eddie Herrera guilty in the death of his 2014 prom date in a Houston Hotel room.
Herrera was convicted of aggravated assault in the death of his prom date, Jacqueline Gomez, in May 2014 at a Hyatt Hotel on North Sam Houston Tollway.
The couple attended MacArthur High School prom dance, then went to a hotel room and mixed alcohol and prescription painkillers. Herrera confessed choking Gomez with his hands during sex, but that she was still alive, prosecutors said.
Gomez was found dead in the hotel room the following morning.
During the trial, a paramedic testified that Gomez was dead when he arrived, but the paramedic “was not able to make a decision at this time whether this was a natural death,” he stated.
According to prosecutors, Herrera found Gomez dead when he woke up the next morning. Herrera fell asleep with Gomez in the bed next to him. Herrera then called his mother, who was staying at the same hotel.
The mother is also awaiting trial, she is accused of providing two bottles of whiskey and hydrocodone pills to the teens. She is also accused of dressing Gomez after her son called her.