On the evening of June 18, 2016, a residence on East Main Street in Duncan, South Carolina, became the scene of a violent and tragic event. Edilberto Flores-Palacio and his roommate, Edgar Ruben Cojon-Lopez, were enjoying a day off from their jobs at a local Mexican restaurant, sitting together in their kitchen. Their peaceful evening was shattered when Francisco Maldonado-Molina, the 46-year-old ex-husband of a woman who was in a relationship with another of their roommates, entered the house
in a jealous rage.
Earlier that evening, Maldonado-Molina had a heated phone conversation with his ex-wife, who was also at the residence. In a chilling threat, he told her that if she did not come home, 'everybody in the house dies.' Almost immediately after the call ended, Maldonado-Molina made good on his threat. He walked into the kitchen, paced for a moment, and then pulled out a handgun. He first shot Mr. Lopez in the head. As Mr. Lopez lost consciousness, he witnessed Maldonado-Molina turn the gun on Mr. Palacio, shooting him in the head as well.
Maldonado-Molina's ex-wife confronted him after the initial shots, at which point he callously shot Mr. Palacio a second time. She screamed that the men he shot had nothing to do with their issues, but Maldonado-Molina responded by slamming her against a wall. She managed to break free and call 911 as he fled the scene in a Toyota Tundra. When officers from the Duncan Police Department and the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office arrived, they found Mr. Palacio deceased and Mr. Lopez gravely injured.
Francisco Maldonado-Molina remained a fugitive for several years. His getaway vehicle was discovered in Dallas, Texas, in April of 2017. However, Maldonado-Molina himself was not apprehended until July 2020, when he surrendered to the U.S. Marshals Service after a brief standoff in Peoria, Illinois. At the time of his capture, he was in possession of a handgun and a large sum of cash.
In December 2023, Francisco Maldonado-Molina stood trial in Spartanburg County. The emotional 911 call made by his ex-wife on the night of the murder was played for the jury. On Wednesday, December 20, 2023, the jury found him guilty of Murder, Attempted Murder, Burglary in the First Degree, and Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime. The judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Edilberto Flores-Palacio. He also received concurrent sentences of thirty years for the attempted murder of Edgar Ruben Cojon-Lopez and fifteen years for the burglary charge.
