A jury found Christian Ivan Bautista guilty of murder Tuesday and sentenced him to life imprisonment Wednesday in the brutal rape-murder of Lauren Bump on New Year’s Eve in 2013. Bautista is an illegal alien with a long rap sheet that included aggravated robbery.
Bautista appears to have been a member of the Mexican Mafia.
He was never turned over to ICE. San Antonio is a sanctuary city.
His defense attorney Tim Molina tried to convince the jury he was simply weird and that didn’t mean he slaughtered Lauren Bump, and she was slaughtered.
Bautista was convicted of stabbing the 24-year old young woman to death after he saw her jogging in a park while visiting home in San Antonio from graduate school. A family found Bump said she was still alive and testified she was covered in blood and her body had been mutilated.
Eyewitnesses saw Bautista in the park on the trail where Lauren Bump’s body was found. He was acting strangely.
Bautista’s roommate said that he gave him the knife believed to have been used to kill the young woman though the knife was not recovered. The defense attorney brazenly tried to put the blame on Bautista’s roommate though there was no evidence he was the guilty party. The roommate was the witness.
The convicted killer admitted he was in the park to investigators but didn’t confess.
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Bautista’s roommate, however, told investigators that on New Year’s Day, Bautista told him: “I stuck that (expletive). I cut her up real nice,” according to court documents.
An expert testified that Bump’s and Bautista’s DNA could “not be excluded” on a T-shirt and a pair of underwear worn by Bautista.
Lead prosecutor Mary Green said DNA on Bautista’s “innermost layer of clothing” has Bump’s blood on it.
Dr. Rajesh Kannan, Bexar County deputy medical examiner, said Bump had 27 deep stab wounds or cuts to her body.
“This was a sadistic, senseless, predatory crime,” Green said. “It saddens me that the last face this beautiful woman saw is the face of evil. He must be held responsible. Find him guilty.”
During the punishment phase of the trial, additional evidence was introduced in the form of Bautista’s many tattoos on his chest, back, and arms. Pictures were shown to the jury, and explained by gang expert Nick Rocha. He testified that prisoners in the Bexar County jail are segregated according to gang affiliation, and that Bautista’s ink is a direct connection to the Mexican Mafia, with the number “13” on his stomach, and that represents “M” the 13th letter in the alphabet. He said Bautista has been associated with the Mexican Mafia for many years.
There is also Aztec warrior in the center of his back, topped with “Sodado” or “Soldier” banner across the top of his shoulders.
Bautista was once charged with illegally entering this country and spent at least six months in federal custody, there is now a great deal of confusion over why he was never deported, the Examiner reported.
On Jan. 8, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials confirmed publicly that Bautista did have “legal” status in this country, but that his current immigration status was still “up in the air.” ICE would not respond to reporters requests for further information.
His status was reported by both Kens5 and the Examiner in 2014 but it’s impossible to find the information now. MySanAntonio will not mention it which is typical of U.S. media. They will not inform the public when an illegal alien or DREAMer is involved.
Kens5 reported in 2014:
His criminal history in Bexar County includes eight different instances.
The 29-year-old was arrested for drug possession in 2006 and a few weeks later was charged with illegal entry, according to county records.
State records obtained by the I-Team revealed Bautista finished a five-year sentence for aggravated robbery in October and was released from state custody October 29, a little more than two months before Bump was murdered.
Bautista will hopefully never be released.
