A Bexar County jury found James Mendoza guilty Thursday of killing his estranged wife, Stephanie Mendoza, who prosecutors said was stabbed 32 times in a South Side home. Her daughter found her dead there on Aug. 13, 2024. Mendoza was also found injured in the home and received medical treatment, KSAT reported.
The jury’s verdict followed testimony about the couple’s relationship and their attempts to separate. Prosecutors said Stephanie Mendoza had left but continued helping James Mendoza; they argued that he sought to draw her back by asking for food, medicine and other assistance. A friend also testified that he sometimes grabbed Stephanie by the arm and pulled her to leave, according to KSAT’s trial coverage.
Mendoza was expected to learn his punishment Friday morning and faced up to life in prison, according to KSAT. The verdict established his guilt; the sentence was still pending in the account available at publication.
What county violence totals measure
The conviction comes amid a broader toll of family violence in Bexar County. A commission tally reported by TPR recorded 28 deaths in 2025, down from 32 in 2024. KSAT reported that the commission’s 2025 count covered incidents reported by San Antonio police or the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and excluded four people considered alleged actors.
Those family-violence totals are broader than intimate-partner homicide counts. The Collaborative Commission on Domestic Violence says its family-violence data may include offenses beyond those involving intimate partners or caregivers and children. The reports also give different intimate-partner figures for 2025: TPR cited 16 deaths involving intimate-partner violence, including three bystanders, while KSAT reported 13 people killed by an intimate partner. They are separately reported figures, not interchangeable measures.
The distinction matters when comparing this case with countywide statistics: a broad family-violence tally does not describe only killings between partners, and a single conviction does not establish a trend. The commission’s statistical report explains the scope of its family-violence data.
