Woman Who Says She Was Sex Trafficked Sentenced in Texas Murder Case

A judge's gavel in a file photo. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A Texas woman who says she was sex trafficked has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for her part in a robbery that turned deadly, the Dallas County District Attorney announced.

Zephaniah “Zephi” Trevino garnered national attention and support from celebrities, including Kim Kardashian and Jamie Lee Curtis, after she was arrested for her connection in the Aug. 3, 2019, case that left one man dead and another wounded.

Ms. Trevino, 20, who pleaded guilty to murder and aggravated robbery, received 12 years for murder and five years for aggravated robbery. The sentences will be served concurrently, the Dallas County District Attorney announced on Monday.

“I am thankful to my team and proud of them for staying the course. They were never distracted by the media attention or public outcries trying to shift the narrative of this case, and continued, in accordance with the law, to follow the facts and evidence to see that justice was done, ” said Dallas County DA John Creuzot in a statement (pdf).

Ms. Trevino, who was 16 at the time of the incident, was one of three people charged in the robbery that led to the shooting death of Carlos Murillo, 24, in a Grand Prairie apartment complex. Another man, Christian Lobo, was also wounded in the incident.

Although Ms. Trevino was a minor when the crimes occurred, the 5th District Court of Appeals upheld a juvenile court’s decision to certify her to be tried as an adult, according to previous reports by multiple local news outlets.

Robbery Turned Deadly

The district attorney’s office said Ms. Trevino lured Mr. Murillo and Mr. Lobo to an apartment, where they were attacked and robbed by Philip Baldenegro Aguilera and Jesse Martinez.

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Police said Ms. Trevino invited Mr. Murillo and Mr. Lobo to the apartment. After they arrived, Ms. Trevino and Mr. Lobo went into a bedroom while Mr. Murillo waited in the living room, the Dallas Observer reported. Then, Mr. Baldenegro Aguilera and Mr. Lobo, who were both 18 at the time, appeared with the intention of robbing the men who were invited there.

“[T]he two men were beaten with guns and robbed of their belongings,” according to the district attorney’s office.

Mr. Murillo and Mr. Lobo fled the scene and made it to their car, but the three suspects from the apartment followed them and continued the altercation. Ms. Trevino reportedly searched for valuables in the victim’s car.

“Mr. Murillo was ultimately shot by Philip Baldenegro [Aguilera] and later died,” the district attorney said.

Police located Mr. Baldenegro Aguilera and Mr. Martinez at a friend’s home, where they recovered the guns used in the crimes. The friend reportedly told authorities that Ms. Trevino tried to console Baldenegro Aguilera after the incident “by rubbing his back, kissing him, and telling him she was proud of him,” court documents stated.

Mr. Baldenegro Aguilera and Mr. Martinez were arrested within hours of the crimes. They were charged with one count each of aggravated robbery and capital murder.

But it was almost a month later before Ms. Trevino was also arrested and charged.

“If it [were] not for the fact that she was being trafficked, she would not have been at that murder,” said attorney Justin Moore, who represented Ms. Trevno, told KXAS-TV in an interview in 2021.

Mr. Moore did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.

In 2020, Crystal Trevino, the teen girl’s mother, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that she began noticing changes in her daughter’s behavior after she began dating another teen boy who abused her and introduced her to drugs. The girl’s mother said her daughter was working through the trauma when Mr. Baldenegro Aguilera connected with her on social media.

The pair soon began lying about their whereabouts. At one point, Mr. Baldenegro Aguilera said he was taking the teen girl to see a movie, but they did not return for two days. Ms. Crystal Trevino told the news outlet.

In 2020, the case caught the attention of Ms. Kardashian, who shared a petition on social media dubbed “Justice for Zephaniah Trevino,” along with a link to raise funds for her defense.

Jamie Lee Curtis took out a full-page ad in The Dallas Morning News in December 2020.

“[Trevino] didn’t hold a gun. She didn’t create the scenario. She was being sold for sex. And now, after being abused and victimized by her trafficker, she’s being victimized again — this time by the legal system that should be protecting her,” the ad read, according to the Dallas Observer.

Mr. Baldenegro Aguilera’s lawyer, David Finn, told The Washington Post that the sex trafficking claim against his client is false and that Ms. Zephi Trevino was responsible for organizing the robbery.

In January 2021, Ms. Zephi Trevino, who has maintained her innocence, was a guest on the “Dr. Phil”. She told the TV show host that it felt “crazy, overwhelming, gut-wrenching” to be charged with such crimes.

Trafficking Victims Arrested for Crimes

Earlier this year, the Polaris Project released its recent National Survivor Survey, which found that “trafficking victims are being arrested and charged with crimes at shocking rates.” Polaris Project is a 501(c)(3) that works to end human trafficking. It also operates the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline.

“The NSS data found that of 439 participating trafficking survivors, 62 percent had been cited, arrested, or detained by law enforcement at least once,” Polaris Project wrote in a blog on its website, adding that 80 percent of those arrests occurred while the victim was being trafficked.

The report highlighted Ms. Zephi Trevino’s case as an example of such a case.

“Zephi was 16 when her adult boyfriend started trafficking her. She was later used by her trafficker as part of a scheme to rob a sex buyer,” the blog reads. “Zephi’s case highlights how policies meant to protect trafficking victims can be disregarded when someone does not fit neatly into someone’s definition of a model trafficking victim.”

But the Dallas DA did not back down from the charges despite the outcry of celebrities, media, and victims’ advocates.

“There were only two victims in this case—Carlos Murillo and Christian Lobo. My thoughts are with their families, and I pray this helps them continue to heal, Mr. Cruezot said.

After the sentencing on Monday, Mr. Moore accused the Dallas DA of “scaring” his client into accepting a plea deal and then delighting in the sentence.

“Dallas DA boasting after scaring a child sex trafficking victim into a plea deal is one of the sickest things I’ve seen while practicing law and fighting for abused women. It’s dangerous when your elected officials lean into misogyny and gloat about it,” the lawyer wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Mr. Baldenegro Aguilera remains in the Dallas County Jail on a $1,105,000 bond while he awaits trial on charges of capital murder. Mr. Martinez is out on bond while he awaits trial for capital murder.