On Thursday, jurors in a Hidalgo County murder trial heard from the suspect’s common-law wife said she was there when a Donna High School teen was allegedly shot and killed by her boyfriend at the time.

Carlos Contreras, 23, is charged in the death of 18-year-old Genaro Isaiah “Izzy” Castillo. He died on Jan. 12, 2020 and his body was found near Donna Lake by a field worker.

Miranda Luna, 21, identified herself as Contreras’ common-law wife and said she was dating Contreras at the time of the murder.

Luna was the key witness prosecutors offered immunity to without letting the defense know, triggering the judge to issue a mistrial on Friday, Sept. 12.

RELATED STORY: Family of slain Donna High School student speaks out after mistrial declared

The trial restarted on Monday.

Luna said she was with Contreras and Castillo on the night Castillo died. She said Castillo showed them a gun he was “excited to try out.”

The trio later picked up a man identified as Jorge Veliz, who Luna said she didn’t know.

Luna said Veliz was upset and pulled out his own gun and took Castillo’s gun.

According to Luna, Veliz threatened Contreras and told him to drive to Donna Lake. When they got there, Veliz told Contreras to shoot Castillo.

“Carlos was telling Jorge that he didn’t want to do it, and he was saying ‘please don’t make me.’ He was still crying, and I just heard the gun go off,” Luna said. “Carlos got into the truck, and he got into the backseat and Jorge got next to me to drive. Izzy was on the ground outside, he was shot.”

Luna said she saw the entire shooting from the rearview mirror of the front passenger's seat. 

Through the investigation, authorities learned Castillo and Contreras were arguing over money linked to criminal activity when the shooting happened.

During a news conference following Contreras' arrest, Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra said Contreras admitted to picking up Castillo and driving him and another man identified as “Jorge” to the area south of Donna Lake. Contreras claimed "Jorge" was the one who fatally shot Castillo, but the sheriff said investigators don’t believe a “Jorge” exists.

During opening statements, it was revealed that Veliz is the same "Jorge" that Contreras was referring to. Veliz is not facing any charges connected to Castillo’s murder, but he is scheduled to testify.

The trial is expected to resume Friday morning with more testimony from Luna.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE OF THE TRIAL:
Crime scene specialists testify in murder trial of man accused of killing Donna teen
Defense in murder trial of Carlos Contreras argues that evidence was tainted