Manuel Telez Manuel Tellez interviewed Anthony Moreno at Maroches Bakery, 1200 West Davis Street, about Moreno’s artwork depicting sugar skulls on display in the store, says an affidavit – and killed him in a alley a few blocks further. some time later. Tellez, who is facing murder charges, does not have a lawyer listed in the court records. The affidavit does not specify the motive for the murder, but notes that Tellez, 45, and Moreno, 52, had “a romantic interest” in the same woman. After the men completed the interview on Instagram Live, Moreno texted his wife at 12:15 a.m. Sunday saying he would be going home soon, according to the affidavit. Just before 2 a.m., the men walked down an alley a few blocks away on Kings Highway, where police say Tellez stabbed Moreno to death. Tellez left, then returned at about 3 a.m. with gasoline and set Moreno’s body on fire, according to the affidavit. Surveillance footage from a nearby house recorded the fire. Cell phone records and video surveillance from a nearby gas station show Tellez’s moves, according to the affidavit. Tellez, wearing a white latex glove, appears on camera to fill a portable gas tank at about 2:10 p.m. The same type of gloves was collected at the crime scene, according to the affidavit. A detective wrote in the affidavit that the video shows Tellez wearing a surgical mask and a baseball cap to hide his identity, but that his SUV has visible rust spots on the passenger side of the roof shown in the video. Moreno’s family reported his disappearance on Sunday. Police did not publicly identify him as a victim until Thursday, when they announced Tellez’s arrest on murder charges. On Monday, Tellez posted a Facebook link to a GoFundMe account for the victim’s family. Moreno’s wife commented upset. “OMG, I can not believe he shared this! “He killed my husband and made it look like everything was normal,” wrote Ofelia Moreno. Moreno’s family did not respond to requests for comment. Latins in the Dallas art community said they were shocked by the artist’s murder – and Tellez’s arrest. His bakery on West Davis Street has been a family cultural venue for music, poetry and Mexican handicrafts all these years. “My heart is with the families,” said Ofelia Faz Garza, who had read poetry at the bakery. Others said they were shocked by the violence to comment publicly, but said their condolences were with the families of all those involved. Dallas-based artist Modesto Aceves said he met Moreno in 2018, when Moreno was trying to form a group of artists to organize concerts. The two remained friends and Ives said they often went to art exhibitions together. He said his friend was a hard worker and a strong supporter of other artists. “It was a good motivation. “He always took your back,” Ives said. The two had spoken the day before Moreno’s murder, Aceves said. Moreno invited him to an art show that day, but he did not succeed. On Sunday, Asves saw Facebook posts saying Moreno was missing. He texted his friend to ask if he was OK, but never received a reply. Read about Moreno’s death shortly after. “He really hit me hard because if I was with him, it might not have happened,” Aceves said. Aceves also knew Tellez and would visit Maroches Bakery with Moreno. He said he never heard his friend say anything negative about Tellez. He said he watched part of the couple’s live interview and said he did not see anything. “When I heard it was him, I said, ‘My God.’ “I could not believe it,” Ives said. Moreno recently described the art he created in the online edition of CanvasRebel and said that the focus of most of his work is “the power, the meaning and the visual indication that the definition of love is woman”. He said he used wood carvings, vinyl-like plastic sheets and hand-cut glass to create two-dimensional pieces. “I’m romantic and raised by women with a very strong will,” Moreno said. Pro Tem Mayor Chad West, whose district includes the northern Oak Cliff, said in a written statement that he was “deeply saddened” to learn of Moreno’s assassination. “Our hearts are with Anthony Moreno’s family as they go through this difficult time,” West said. Maroches Bakery is known for selling homemade Roscas de Reyes cakes for the three-day celebration of Three Kings Day. Orders start arriving at the bakery months before the January holidays. In 2018, Tellez defended a large colorful mural next to his bakery in front of the city’s Landmark Commission, which had considered deleting the art because the store is located in the historic Winnetka Heights neighborhood. Its purpose gathered support and the mural remained. The store was open on Friday and customers were coming and going. Employees declined to comment on the case. Neighbors near the alley where Moreno was killed also refused to speak to a reporter. Tellez remained in Dallas County Jail on Friday on $ 1.5 million bail. Staff photographer Rebecca Slezak contributed to this report.
