DALLAS — A Dallas County jury on Thursday found a 31-year-old man guilty of capital murder in last year's deadly shooting at Dallas Methodist Hospital.
Nestor Hernandez was convicted in the Oct. 22, 2022, shooting, which killed social worker Jacqueline Pokuaa and nurse Annette Flowers.
After the verdict was handed down, Judge Chika Anyiam sentenced Hernandez to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors had opted to not pursue the death penalty in Hernandez's case.
The jury on Thursday deliberated Hernandez's fate for about an hour and a half, after hearing closing arguments earlier in the day.
The jurors began deliberating a verdict at 1:45 p.m. Around 2:15 p.m., the red light in the courtroom flickered on. The jury was requesting to review the body camera footage of Sgt. Robert Rangel and the hospital surveillance video. The jury then continued deliberations until around 3:15 p.m., when they returned with a verdict.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot delivered closings for the prosecution.
"This man [...] was walking resentment, rage, anger with a plan to kill," Creuzot said. "And he took all of that into that place where new life, new birth, new hopes, new plans are the only things that are supposed to reside in that tower. And what he took in there was death two times."
Hernandez's defense attorney, Paul Johnson, asked the jury to consider a lesser charge for the defendant.
"We have various destinations that you can arrive at in your deliberations that you heard in the courtroom this week," Johnson said. "It could be capital murder. It shouldn't be, but it could be. It could be murder. It could be manslaughter. It could be negligent homicide."
Prosecutor George Lewis left some final words for the jury before deliberations.
"Think about their families," Lewis said. "Think about their friends. Think about their coworkers, the people that love them. You speak for not only those people. You speak for the community when you tell him that he is guilty of capital murder, and we are not going to tolerate this kind of foolishness and violence in Dallas County."
When it was all said and done, DA Creuzot shared his thanks to the jury who found Hernandez guilty, the judge, Methodist Hospital, the Dallas Police Department and the loved ones of the victims.
“At the time this crime occurred I vowed to see that justice was done, and I am satisfied to say that’s what we’ve accomplished. I say this knowing that justice is no replacement for these two innocent lives lost nor does it repair the trauma inflicted on the staff, officers, and other families at the hospital on that tragic day, however, we have ensured that Mr. Hernandez will die in prison,” said Creuzot.
State Rep. Rafael Anchía (D-Dallas), who in response to Methodist Hospital shooting filed ankle monitor legislation that was signed into law in May, also issued a statement following the guilty verdict.
"The verdict in the Dallas Methodist Hospital shooter case delivers justice for the tragic murder of two beloved Dallas neighbors," Anchía said. "I commend our prosecutors and law enforcement for upholding the rule of law... A year ago, the murders at Methodist Hospital shook us all, and I promised to enact laws to reduce the risk of such tragedy recurring. Today's verdict supports public safety throughout Texas."
Nestor Hernandez testimony
During his testimony, Hernandez admitted to shooting and killing Jacqueline Pokuaa, a social worker, and Annette Flowers, a nurse. But he said he did it "not intentionally."
Hernandez claimed his then-girlfriend, Selena Villatoro, who was in the hospital room with their newborn baby, got up to use the restroom, and they were arguing about whether Hernandez was the father or not.
That's when he recalled Pokuaa entering the room.
He said he had the gun in his right hand, as he hit Villatoro with his left hand. Hernandez said Pokuaa tried to stop the fight, when he shot her.
"She got in between us. She yelled 'stop,'" Hernandez said. "It all happened. It went real slow."
"I panicked. I panicked," Hernandez said. "I opened up the door and I shot with my right hand. I shot out the door, boom, boom twice."
He told the jury he did not know Flowers, the nurse, was in the hallway when he shot and killed her.
Victim Impact Statements
Throughout the trial, friends and family of Flowers and Pokuaa were in the courtroom to support their deceased loved ones.
After the verdict and sentence were announced, those family members took to the stand for victim impact statements.
"I hope that little boy who unfortunately has to share your DNA never grows up to know what a waste of human space you are," Angie Davis, a niece of Flowers, said on the stand. "I pray that he lives a life full of love and happiness, a life that you would never have given him."
"You will rot in a prison cell until, hopefully, you have a long, drawn-out painful death and face the hell you have coming. You will live in a cell where your short, fat self will undoubtedly be made someone else's special friend where every day, they will have their way with you. Unfortunately for them, if the photos of your toddler-sized shoes have anything to say with it--they will be disappointed. Rot in hell."
Sarah Flowers, one of Annette's daughters, wore one of her jackets while taking the stand for statements. The jacket was the color teal, a color they wanted to wear because it was the same as Pokuaa's scrubs the day she died.
"You couldn't control yourself for an hour?" Flowers said on the stand. After the trial, she told WFAA this: "What was his claim on the stand again? That this entire thing happened because of how he felt? Okay. Great."
Flowers' family was displeased listening to Hernandez's testimony, which was nothing short of a Hail Mary that had no shot the minute he opened his mouth.
"We wish there was a harsher punishment, but there's nothing we can do at this point," Kelly Flowers said, a daughter. "He showed no remorse, so I have no remorse for him."
A member of the prosecution read a letter from Pokuaa's family, who was unable to attend the trial. But Flowers' daughters and family members sent a very strong message: Nestor Hernandez only leaves prison in a box.