At the South Austin, Texas, home of George De La Cruz, a one-story house with baby blue trim and a concrete porch lined with potted plants, investigators found no body. No physical proof Julie Ann Gonzalez was killed.
Prosecutors took him to trial anyway, and, in April, persuaded jurors De La Cruz had slain his estranged wife and used her cellphone to fool everyone into thinking she ran away. His conviction was hailed as a huge victory for authorities, who had no eyewitnesses, no confessions, no DNA tests, none of the evidence typical in most murders.
