MS-13 gang members charged with 'satanic' killing, kidnapping appear in court

Miguel Alvarez-Flores & Diego Hernandez-Rivera suspects MS13 gang accused of satanic killing. (Steve Gonzales/Chronicle) Miguel Alvarez-Flores & Diego Hernandez-Rivera suspects MS13 gang accused of satanic killing. (Steve Gonzales/Chronicle) Photo: Steve Gonzales | Houston Chronicle Photo: Steve Gonzales | Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 41 Caption Close MS-13 gang members charged with 'satanic' killing, kidnapping appear in court 1 / 41 Back to Gallery

Two known MS-13 gang members, formerly of El Salvador, appeared in Houston court Wednesday to hear charges against them in the kidnapping and torture of one victim and the "satanic" killing of a second.

Diego Hernandez-Rivera, 18, and leader of the group Miguel Alvarez-Flores, 22, also known as "Diabolico," were arrested Monday on charges of aggravated kidnapping in one case and murder in a second in the shooting death of an unidentified woman's body earlier this month on a Houston road.

Hernandez-River and Alvarez-Flores laughed, smiled and waved for the media cameras during Thursday morning's hearing. Both are immigrants in the country illegally, according to court records.

The men remained Thursday in the Harris County jail under $300,000 bond that was set at a later court hearing before state District Judge Maria Jackson.

In the kidnapping case, the female victim allegedly ran away from school around Feb. 2, to an apartment on Glenmont. There she tried to leave and was held against her will for four days and sexually assaulted by one of the gang members.

The victim was then held for around 14 days at a different location on Gessner.

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According to the charges being read in a court hearing Wednesday morning, this victim told detectives that there were six gang members living at the apartment who forced her to ingest drugs and alcohol to keep her in an intoxicated state during most of her time there.

She was also held down while Alvarez-Flores tattooed the image of a grim reaper from her knee to her foot.

On Feb. 16, the body of another young woman was found in west Houston, lying along the curb at the 9900 block of Sharpcrest Street. The victim in the aggravated kidnapping was able to identify her only as "Genesis," another girl also at the apartment on Gessner.

According to the court hearing, Genesis allegedly made an outburst against the gang members' satanic rituals and shrine, which wound up leading Flores to declare the "Beast" required a soul sacrifice.

When the kidnapping victim woke up the day after the incident, Genesis was gone.

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When police found her, she had been shot once in the head and chest. Investigators believe she was shot by Hernandez-Rivera and Alvarez-Flores at another location and dumped on Sharpcrest.

Prosecutor Lisa Collins told the judge Thursday that Hernandez-Rivera told police that he led the woman to a remote area and shot her twice.

Both suspects are identified in court records as MS-13 gang members from El Salvador. Both men would be held by federal immigration authorities if they are able to make bail, Collins said.

Both men have requested a court-appointed lawyer, and their cases have been assigned to the 339th district court with Judge Maria Jackson.