Fort Worth murder suspect pleads to lesser charge, gets 10 years

A Cleburne man accused of fatally shooting a 29-year-old man last year and then sparking a two-day manhunt when he tried to evade capture, pleaded guilty Friday, but not to a murder charge.

In a plea agreement reached with prosecutors, Kristun Sean Madewell, 40, instead pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence. In exchange, he received a 10-year prison sentence.

Madewell’s attorney, Jeffrey Boncek, said there was no direct evidence that his client fatally shot Christopher Ortega.

“He wasn’t the murderer. He didn’t kill Mr. Ortega,” Boncek said. “We honestly don’t even know who did. There’s a few suspects.”

The Tarrant County district attorney’s office was not immediately available to comment on the plea.

Ortega was found dead early Dec. 12, 2014, in the bedroom of a house in the 1500 block of Willow Park Drive in far south Fort Worth. He had been shot multiple times.

Boncek said his client had been at the house earlier in the day to purchase drugs from another man but did not know Ortega.

He said the tampering charge stemmed from his client getting rid of a weapon after the slaying.

“Mr. Madewell was willing to take a little bit of time because he didn’t want to get wrung up in a murder trial if things went badly for him,” Boncek said. “I think we would have had a pretty good shot if we would have tried the murder case.”

Two others had already been sentenced in the case.

Milisha M. Moore, 31, Madewell’s girlfriend, had been with Madewell the first time that he eluded capture, prompting the manhunt.

She was also charged with murder but pleaded guilty in September to a misdemeanor charge of evading arrest. In exchange for her plea, she was sentenced to one year in jail.

Two days after his first escape, police tracked Madewell to a Crowley residence. The home was under surveillance by police when Madewell left in a pickup driven by Darril Hagger Karl Jr.

Fort Worth fugitives officers were following, waiting for marked vehicles to arrive, when the men realized they were being followed, officials said.

Police say Karl intentionally rammed an unmarked police car in his attempt to get away. The collision sent the pickup careening into a brick wall, and Karl and Madewell were arrested.

This week, a jury found Karl guilty of aggravated assault against a public servant. He was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years in prison, court records show.

Staff writer Mitch Mitchell contributed to this report.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Fort Worth murder suspect pleads to lesser charge, gets 10 years."