A Texas City man has been sentenced to probation after authorities discovered a woman’s decomposing body in the trunk of his car.
On Tuesday, a Galveston County jury sentenced Christopher Lee Maldonado to probation for concealing the body of Angela Mitchell, whose remains were found in her own vehicle in Texas City in 2022.
Mitchell was reported missing after she failed to pick up her infant son. Concerned family members used a tracking app to locate her phone near Maldonado’s home. On May 11, 2022, Texas City Police found Mitchell’s car on 4th Avenue, where authorities noted a strong odor and flies near the trunk. Upon opening it, they discovered her body.
Investigators determined that Mitchell was a sex worker, and her last known location was at Maldonado’s residence on May 5, 2022. Maldonado was later indicted for tampering with a corpse, a second-degree felony. Due to advanced decomposition, the Medical Examiner was unable to determine Mitchell’s cause of death but ruled out overdose or natural causes.
Maldonado’s trial began on February 26, 2025. Prosecutors presented evidence linking him to Mitchell’s last movements, including phone records and screenshots of missing person posters found on his phone. A witness testified that Maldonado paid him $200 to move Mitchell’s car, unaware that her body was inside. A teenager assisting with the vehicle later discovered the body.
During the trial, Maldonado’s ex-wife testified that he had been manipulative, controlling, and had previously strangled her. He faces a separate pending felony charge for strangulation assault.
The jury found Maldonado guilty and sentenced him to five years in prison, though the sentence was probated. He was instead placed on probation for ten years, ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, and required to serve 120 days in jail as a condition of his probation.
