Man arrested for murder in cold case

BLANCO COUNTY, TX (KXAN) - More than seven years after his girlfriend's death, Doyle Weeks was booked into the Blanco County jail, charged with killing her.

Investigators said Cristina Stewart died from a single gunshot wound to the head Nov. 25, 2001 at a home in Round Mountain where she lived with her boyfriend. Evidence from the deadly day was sent back to the Department of Public Safety crime lab near the end of 2008. Investigators questioned the initial ruling that Stewart committed suicide.

"This was the only unsolved homicide case that we had on file going back for at least 12 years," said Sgt. Bob Shelton with the Blanco County Sheriff's Office.

According to Shelton, gun ballistics found at the crime scene did not coincide with the boyfriend's story. Investigators believe Stewart and her boyfriend were the only two people home when the shooting occurred.

At the time of her death, the boyfriend told Stewart's mom they were arguing over her dog which he threatened to kill. The boyfriend said when he laid his cocked gun down on the table and walked outside, he heard the gun go off.

Stewart was a 30-year old mother two who was working on her nursing degree at Austin Community College.

"I kept calling the investigator," said Stewart's mother Martha Benetiz in November of 2008.

The case became boiling hot when investigators presented the new evidence to a Blanco County grand jury last week who handed a murder indicted down to Stewart's boyfriend, Doyle Weeks.

Blanco County said Weeks surrendered himself Wednesday. He was booked into the Blanco County jail on a $100,000 bond.