Dallas jury finds Forest Hill man guilty of killing ex-girlfriend

A 21-year-old Forest Hill man was convicted by a Dallas jury for killing his ex-girlfriend in 2015.

John Pauley Stover was found guilty of killing his ex-girlfiend, Isela Sanchez, 22, by stabbing her more than 40 times, according to The Dallas Morning News.

A passer-by called 911 on Dec. 9 to report that a woman had collapsed in a front yard in the 5200 block of Silver Trail in Grand Prairie and was bleeding heavily.

Officers reported that she had been stabbed several times. Sanchez was taken to Medical Center of Arlington where she died a couple hours later.

Stover can be heard in a video after his arrest saying, “It wasn’t supposed to happen. I just hope you guys have a little mercy on me,” the Morning News reported.

His defense was strongly directed at his mental health, according to the newspaper. Stover’s mother, Yolanda Stover, said in her testimony that his mental issues began after he was given up for adoption as a 6-year-old.

Stover told detectives that he stabbed Sanchez with a knife he had on him after he “blacked out in blinding anger” when Sanchez reportedly told him she gave his mother drugs, the Morning News reported from the trial.

His sentence is still to be determined but if jurors decide the murder was a “result of sudden passion,” Stover could receive a less time in prison, the newspaper reported.

According to the Morning News, the victim’s father, Daniel Sanchez, said his daughter “loved to help people” and “was a very caring person.”

This story was originally published February 25, 2017 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Dallas jury finds Forest Hill man guilty of killing ex-girlfriend."