An off-duty Border Patrol agent is facing a murder charge after his wife was found stabbed inside a vehicle in south Laredo early Wednesday, in a case that also left two children unharmed inside the family's home. Abel Garza, 30, is charged with murder in the death of his 28-year-old wife, Mayra Alejandra Landeros, along with additional counts tied to the children found at the scene.
Stabbing Reported Near Texana and Nocona
The incident happened just before 3 a.m. Wednesday at a home near Texana and Nocona in south Laredo, according to KGNS. Officers found Landeros in the back floorboard of a car suffering from critical stab wounds; she later died at the hospital, the station reported. Two children were found safe at the home, KGNS said.
A separate account from El Mañana places the residence at a specific address on Texana Street in the Lago Del Valle neighborhood, south of Concord Hills in eastern Laredo. That outlet reported that police, assisted by a drone, intercepted a truck at 2:45 a.m. as Garza was driving toward a hospital with Landeros in the back seat; she died after arriving at the hospital, per that report.
Charges Include Child Endangerment Counts
Garza is charged with murder in his wife's death, and he also faces two counts of endangering a child and two counts of abandonment of a child, all second-degree felonies, per the same KGNS report. Laredo Police Chief Miguel Rodríguez said the two children were unharmed, according to El Mañana, and described the case as still preliminary, with additional charges possibly under consideration.
CBP Confirms Agent's Employment, Opens Review
U.S. Customs and Border Protection identified Garza as an off-duty Laredo Sector Border Patrol agent and said he was arrested at 6 a.m., the station's report noted. CBP said its Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing the case. That office serves as CBP's internal investigative arm, handling both criminal and administrative misconduct investigations involving agency personnel, according to a CBP Office of Professional Responsibility annual report.
KGNS reported that Landeros's death marks Laredo's sixth homicide of 2026. ValleyCentral also reported on the case, citing the Laredo Morning Times, and confirmed that CBP identified Garza as a Border Patrol agent assigned to the Laredo Sector.
Case Adds to Scrutiny of Agency Personnel
The arrest comes amid broader scrutiny of misconduct cases involving federal immigration agents in the region. A report from the El Paso Herald-Post found that at least 37 former Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents were charged or convicted of serious crimes between 2015 and 2026. That same report noted that former Border Patrol Agent Juan David Ortiz was convicted of murdering four women and sentenced to life without parole in December 2022, and that Border Patrol Agent Rogelio Martinez was previously arrested in Laredo on a charge of assaulting a family member and attempting to strangle her.
No information has been released about Garza's plea, legal representation, or bond status. The investigation remains active as CBP's internal review proceeds alongside the criminal case.
