Texas Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Drugging, Murdering Prom Date During Rough Sex

Gomez Family Handout
Gomez Family Handout

A court gave a Texas man 25 years in prison for strangling his prom date during a bout of rough sex on prom night, court documents reveal.

The court determined that Eddie Herrera of Houston murdered 17-year-old Jackie Gomez in a hotel room on prom night in 2014. Herrera says Gomez lost her life accidentally during rough sex.

The MacArthur High School student was found with high levels of alcohol and the drug hydrocodone in her system.

“With a combination of the alcohol and the hydrocodone, the body was already so depressed that it could not recover from those choking injuries,” prosecutor Justin Wood said. “This is just extremely sad because it could’ve all been prevented.”

Herrera, 18, claimed the victim asked him to squeeze her neck during their sexual encounter, but her system was already compromised by the booze and drugs, and she never recovered from Herrera’s choking.

For months after the incident, Herrera told police he did not know how the girl died, but ultimately, he admitted, “I put my hands on her neck and squeezed.”

Herrera’s mother was also charged in the death because she booked the hotel room and even supplied the alcohol and drugs so her son could “have a good time.”

During the teen’s trial, prosecutors revealed to jurors that after having consensual sex and choking the girl, Herrera fell asleep with the girl’s dead body lying next to him all night. Upon awaking the next day, he called his mother instead of calling police or an ambulance. Then, prosecutors said, Herrera and his mother waited another two hours to call police.

The victim’s friends were shocked and saddened by her death, and one described the girl as “just a good spirit to be around.”

Herrera’s lawyer has already said he plans to appeal the sentence.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.

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