On April 18, 1979, 32-year-old Hispanic male Tony Natal Gutierrez was brutally murdered in his Dallas, Texas apartment. Gutierrez shared the residence with 30-year-old Charles Edward Moya, another Hispanic male. The assailant, later identified as David Villarreal, entered their home with the intent to kill both men, reportedly because he "didn't like them." Villarreal first attacked Gutierrez in the main room, stabbing him in the chest and slashing his throat.
He then proceeded to mutilate Gutierrez’s face, inserting a teaspoon into his nose and stabbing near both eyes before covering his head with a pillow.
After killing Gutierrez, Villarreal moved to the hallway where he encountered Moya and similarly slashed his throat. He continued his violent spree by burning Moya’s right eyelid with a match. The level of brutality and disfigurement in both murders suggested a deeply personal and sadistic motive. Villarreal’s actions were part of a broader pattern of violence; he was later linked to multiple other murders of gay men in Texas between 1978 and 1981.
Following these killings, Villarreal was briefly detained in connection with a separate murder but was released due to insufficient evidence. He was later imprisoned on unrelated burglary charges in Austin, which kept him behind bars for nearly two years. After his release, he committed another murder in San Antonio, further solidifying his profile as a serial killer.
On March 10, 1981, David Villarreal was arrested in Dallas. During questioning, he confessed to killing seven men since 1974, including Tony Natal Gutierrez and Charles Edward Moya. Authorities were able to conclusively link him to five murders, including those of Gutierrez and Moya. Villarreal eventually pleaded guilty to all charges and received multiple life sentences. He remains incarcerated at the James V. Allred Unit in Wichita Falls, Texas. His crimes were marked by extreme violence and a lack of remorse, and he expressed a preference for execution over life imprisonment.
