Man Convicted of Stabbing Ex 8 Times

HOUSTON - A 46-year-old man who claimed he couldn't remember stabbing his ex-wife to death faces a life sentence after a Richmond jury decided he was guilty of murder.

A punishment hearing for Victor Zavala, Jr. was set for Sept. 14 after he was convicted Tuesday in the March 2006 murder of his ex-wife, Karen Goodspeed, according to a Fort Bend County statement.

Zavala had claimed was acting in self defense and even blacked out during the fatal stabbing of Goodspeed; but a prosecutor said that Zavala had kicked down two doors at their apartment before stabbing Goodspeed eight times and cutting her another three.

Further testimony revealed that Goodspeed had decided to move out of the apartment after one of her daughter's told her that Zavala allegedly e-mailed her inappropriate comments under a false name and told her he fantasized about her, according to the statement. When Zavala found out Goodspeed had contacted movers, he left his job and confronted Goodspeed at their apartment and stabbed her in the kitchen.

Movers who testified at the trial said they had heard Goodspeed screaming, according to the statement.

Zavala's sentence could be anywhere between 5 and 99 years or life in prison and a fine up to $10,000, according to the statement.