Police: Texas murder suspect chopped victim’s legs off, tried to torch remains

Michael Scott Quin is facing trial for the 2013 murder and dismemberment of Albert Guerra.

The murder trial for a San Antonio man accused of murdering his girlfriend’s former boyfriend, chopping off his legs, and attempting to torch his remains, started on Tuesday.

San Antonio Express-News reports that Michael Scott Quin, 53, allegedly became enraged when his girlfriend, Connie Yanez, 39, told him that her former boyfriend, Albert Guerra, 50, hit her during a domestic dispute. The couple reportedly went to Guerra’s home on May 4, 2013, on the Northwest side. While Guerra slept, he was hit in the back of his head with a hammer around 20 times. Shortly before Guerra died, Quin took a handful of the victim’s hair, according to prosecutor, Jason Goss.

During his opening statement on Tuesday, Goss warned jurors about the graphic crime scene photographs to come. The jury sat astounded when shown the crime scene photos; some visibly winced while others shook their head and closed their eyes.

“This is unlike anything you’ve ever seen,” said Goss.

After Guerra died, Quin reportedly grabbed a saw and cut both of the victim’s legs off at the thigh area. Goss explained that once Quinn realized it would take too long to cut up Guerra’s entire body, he devised a plan to set his remains on fire. Goss indicated that the suspect went into a garage, picked up flammable liquid, then walked back to Guerra’s house and set it on fire.

Before starting the fire, Quin reportedly called relatives in South Carolina, and admitted that he’d just chopped a man’s legs off. He panicked, according to Goss, and told his brother, Eric Quinn, that he was standing in a pool of blood and didn’t know what to do. His brother phoned the police immediately.

“He said he cut the man, he cut him up and had to get rid of the body,” Eric Quinn, a Pentecostal pastor, testified. “He said, ‘He’s a big ol’ boy and it’s more than I can handle.'”

Both Quin and Yanez are charged with Guerra’s murder. So far it’s unclear what Yanez’s part in the murder was. Her trial is scheduled to start next year.

[Featured Photo by Bexar County Sheriff’s Office]