HOUSTON -- A 25-year-old man was sentenced to death Friday for the kidnap, rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in the East End more than two years ago.

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Family Members React To Death Sentence

Edgardo Rafael Cubas was found guilty of capital murder in the death of Esmeralda Alvarado in January 2002. Her body, which had a gunshot wound to the head, was dumped in a remote area.

Prosecutors said Cubas deserved to die for the crime, while the defense asked for the minimum punishment, a 40-year prison sentence.

Cubas' family said the decision is not fair since Cubas claims he did not shoot Alvarado after she was abducted and raped.

"He had to pay anyway, somehow, but I don't think it was fair, because there was a whole bunch of evidence that didn't even go in there," said Terri Huerta, Cubas' aunt.

Cubas' uncle said Cubas was described as killer, but he's not. He said the evidence was gathered by force. He was dying of fatigue and hunger, so he said what the police wanted.

Alvarado's family was pleased with the verdict. They said Cubas needs to pay for his actions since they lost a loved one who will never be replaced.

"I will never see her graduate, marry or have children. But even more painful, in the last of her life, with all her dreams and her future, how do you make that vision of that brutal rape and murder go away?" said Rocio Alvarado, Esmeralda's sister.

During closing arguments, a juror became sick and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. Since the juror felt better Friday morning, deliberations resumed at 9:30 a.m.

The defense asked for a mistrial, but the judge denied the motion.

Jurors deliberated about 90 minutes before reaching the guilty verdict on May 10.

Prosecutors showed the jury a tape of Cubas reportedly demonstrating to police how Alvarado was killed in January 2002.

Defense attorneys argued the tape is not a confession because Cubas did not know he was being recorded. Cubas' attorney also said he did not know his rights.

Police Link Cubas To Other Murders

Cubas was also one of three suspects accused in the murders of two East End waitresses, Roxana Capulin and Maria Moreno Rangel.

One suspect, 26-year-old Walter Sorto, was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in November 2003.

Defense attorneys in Sorto's case said an accomplice -- Cubas -- and Eduardo Navarro, 16, pulled the trigger and that Sorto was forced by his accomplices to sexually assault Rangel after she was already dead, presuming that his DNA would be detected by police.

Houston police linked Cubas and Sorto to six other murders and tied them to the 2002 disappearance of 13-year-old Laura Ayala. She disappeared March 10 from the parking lot of a Conoco gas station, 2610 Broadway, in southeast Houston.

Police said that she had gone to the store to buy a newspaper for a school project and when she did not return, her mother became concerned and went looking for her. The newspaper and Laura's shoes were found in the street, authorities said.

Navarro and Sorto were also charged with Alvarado's death.

Navarro will go on trial in September.