[Weird] Letter from infamous Houston murderer just showed up in my mailbox

Same street number but different cities far away from each other in Texas -- letter was for his sister. I remember hearing about his case I bet some of you do as well as it was pretty bizarre and widely reported. He is featured in the new netflix doc I am a Killer -- here is info on him and the case...
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Houston Chronicle

December 18, 1997

A teen-ager who killed a man for $23 and the promise of a car from the victim's wife was sentenced to death by lethal injection Wednesday.

Mark Arthur, 18, was convicted of capital murder last week for the slaying of Esequiel Fonseca, shot at least seven times as he drove home from work on Beltway 8 Dec. 21, 1996.

Fonseca's wife, Carmen, 41, who had an affair with Arthur and, prosecutors allege, asked him to kill her husband, is awaiting trial. A 16-year-old also involved is being handled by juvenile authorities.

It took the jury 22 hours to reach its decision on Arthur's sentence Wednesday.

After the verdict was read, Arthur's mother wailed in court, screaming "It's all my fault." She then screamed that she should have had an abortion.

The defendant began crying.

"His tears were only for himself," prosecutor Jane Waters, said, noting the defendant showed no remorse in the trial.

The jury heard about Arthur's criminal history dating back to when he was 12. Waters said Arthur has a juvenile record for car theft and a conviction for carrying a weapon.

He also has been tied to a string of crimes over a 23-day period last December that led up to the murder. These include accusations of burglary of a habitation, aggravated robbery, car theft and aggravated assault.

Defense attorney Kurt Wentz asked the jury to spare Arthur's life, telling them that the young man was influenced by an evil woman. He said Carmen Fonseca told Arthur that she was a battered woman.

On Dec. 21 last year, Arthur and a friend parked alongside Beltway 8 near Texas 288, waiting for the victim to pass by, according to a sheriff's department report. They pulled up next to Fonseca and fired into his car until it went out of control and crashed.

Six hours after the shooting, Arthur returned to the car to steal Fonseca's wallet. In his confession, Arthur said when he approached the car the second time, he heard the victim making "squeaky sounds," so he shot him several more times in the head.

https://murderpedia.org/male.A/a/arthur-mark-sam.htm

https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/i-am-a-killer-season-2-coming-to-netflix-on-january-31st-2020/

 

Maybe it's a really clever viral marketing campaign.

 

In a pile of mail.

 

I read the discord with my secret account so I know what you knuckleheads are up to.

 

That's not everything...

 

Your only tv is Metz Axio 720p LCD.

 

Whoever inspected it at the jail didn't seal it they just tucked the flap inside the envelope and stuck a small piece of scotch tape on the outside which probably never even stuck.

 

MARK SAM ARTHUR

‘I’m not saying it was right for me to take another person’s life. But sometimes it has to happen.’

- Mark Sam Arthur

There’s no argument about who killed Esequiel Fonseca Sr. on December the 21st, 1996. It was Mark Sam Arthur. The police know it, the courts know it, Mark knows it. Esequiel even knew it in the split second between the bullets going into his head and death.

The question is ‘why?’

There are several possible motives for the murder. First, though, let’s quickly run down what happened…

It was five days before Christmas ‘96 in Houston, Texas. 17-year-old Mark Arthur and his 16-year-old friend Mason Hughes stole a blue Cadillac at gunpoint from an elderly man outside a convenience store. The next evening, with Hughes driving and Arthur in the passenger seat, they tracked Esequiel ‘Big Zeke’ Fonseca as he left work. The two teenagers in the stolen car pulled up alongside Fonseca’s vehicle. Arthur wound down the passenger side window, cocked the 9mm and unloaded it into the driver of the white Lincoln next to them.

13 bullets were fired. Seven entered Big Zeke’s head, arms and torso.

The two teens then sped away. They were both arrested just a few days later.

The crime was premeditated. It was cold-blooded. It was every bit the capital murder. But what was the reasoning behind it? There was no robbery element. It was a targeted attack too, so it was no random thrill kill. And, while the boys had gang ties, this was no initiation hit. So what was the motive for Mr Fonseca’s murder?

Let’s explore the possibilities. At one point or another, the following motives have been suggested by those involved in the case. The truth is somewhere here:

● Possible motive #1: Let’s start with that quote. According to the man himself, Arthur saw and experienced physical abuse as a child. He abhors violence against women and the vulnerable. Fonseca was married to his friend’s mother and used to beat her. Disgusted, saddened, angry and determined not to have the beating repeated, he shot and killed Fonseca.

● Possible motive #2: Furious about the spousal violence, Mark Arthur jumped Fonseca and beat him up. Later, the victim would threaten to murder Arthur as an act of revenge. Afraid for his life, Arthur shot and killed Fonseca as a pre-emptive strike.

● Possible motive #3: Mark Arthur was having an affair with Carmen Fonseca, Esequiel’s wife. She was eight months pregnant with his child. One day Esequiel beat her so badly she lost the baby. Disgusted, saddened and angry, he shot and killed Fonseca.

● Possible motive #4: Arthur was having an affair with Carmen Fonseca. He wanted to get rid of his love rival and replace him. Jealous and seeing no other way to get rid of the man, he shot and killed Fonseca.

● Possible motive #5: There was a sizeable life insurance policy (some $220,000) taken out not long before the murder. Carmen wanted to kill her husband and cash in on it. To do so, she needed a gunman. So she seduced Mark Arthur and convinced him to do the deed, in return for a cut. Desperate to please Carmen and make some money, Arthur shot and killed Fonseca.

The truth is most likely a muddied mixture of some or all of these theories.

Arthur had been physically abused by his stepfather as a child and seen his sister beaten by her partner. He does have a pathological hatred of men who beat women and children.

There was some kind of relationship between Mark and Carmen, they've each admitted to it at various times. Mark Arthur now claims that their affair was brief and only a physical thing. He claims his motive was partly due to his hatred of violence against women, but mostly a ‘kill or be killed’ thing. He feared ‘Big Zeke’s vengeance after the beating he handed him.

Houston PD believes the pair were in it together. The insurance policy is pretty damning when considering this particular theory. It certainly seems to indicate that Carmen was involved. Then again, recorded calls from Mark in custody to Carmen - designed to implicate her - proved fruitless.

The truth, as it can so often be in such complicated and serious matters, is elusive.

Both Mark and Carmen would be found guilty of capital murder and receive life in prison (although Mark was originally given a death sentence, it was commuted in 2005).

https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/shows/i-am-a-killer/articles/mark-sam-arthur

 

I'm back in New Munich a little southwest of Austin.