3 charged in Tigard murder, including victim’s estranged wife

TIGARD, Ore. (KOIN) — Three people, including the victim’s estranged wife, have been indicted on murder charges in connection to a deadly shooting that happened in Dec. 2015.

Brennan Chase Surface, Maria Lynn Molina and Charlz Lavern Warbonnet have all been indicted by a Washington grand jury for the murder of Luis Alberto Aguilar-Estrada.

According to police, his body was found by a family member at the Pacific Village Apartments on SW McKenzie Street.

He died of a gunshot wound to the head, according to archived reports. Police on Wednesday confirmed the shooting happened at “close-range.”

Warbonnet is being held in the Jackson Co. Jail. Records show he was booked on April 26 on unrelated drug and failure to appear charges. He also has a fugitive from justice hold out of Washington County, which was filed Tuesday for the Tigard homicide.

On Tuesday, Molina was arrested by Transit Police and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center. She was transported on Wednesday to the Washington Co. Jail.

Surface is being held at the Multnomah Co. Detention Center on allegations of attempted murder for an unrelated shooting that occurred in January in North Portland, officials confirmed.

KOIN 6 News reported on his arrest in April.

Motive: Custody Dispute

Tigard Police confirm the homicide appears to be the result of a child custody dispute. Detectives say Aguilar-Estrada had been in an ongoing fight with Molina, his estranged wife.

Molina, at the time, lived in Fairview, Ore. Aguilar-Estrada learned that his children had been taken from Molina by Oregon DHS the week prior to his death for neglect.

Detectives learned that Molina told DHS that Aguilar-Estrada had never been involved with the children and was in Mexico. That information was false, police said.

“Aguilar-Estrada threatened to contact DHS and expose Molina and seek custody of the children,” according to police spokesperson Jim Wolf.

Molina, investigators say, enlisted the help of her boyfriend, Surface, and his friend, Warbonnet. The group drove to Aguilar-Estrada’s residence on Dec. 14 where they “surveilled the location,” Wolf said. Eventually, in the early morning hours of Dec. 15, Surface and Warbonnet entered Aguilar-Estrada’s apartment and killed him.

Molina is expected to be arraigned on Thursday on two counts of murder, according to jail records. Arraignments for Surface and Warbonnet have not been set.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Tigard Police at 503.718.2677.