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*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

February 23, 2024

www.texasattorneygeneral.gov




*PRESS OFFICE: (512) 463-2050*

[email protected]





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*Texas Attorney General Secures Conviction and 50-Year Sentence for Child Murderer*

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NUECES COUNTY ? Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured a 50-year sentence for a murderer who killed a four-year-old child. Ezekiel Ramirez, 29, of Corpus Christi, TX, was sentenced pursuant to a plea agreement to 50 years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for Murder in Nueces County, Texas. He will not be eligible for parole until 2047.

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The victim was Knox Longoria, a four-year-old child who had just finished his first year of school when he was killed by Ramirez. Knox was routinely left in the care of the defendant by his mother. On June 4, 2021, Knox was taken to Corpus Christi Medical Center Bay Area with severe internal injuries. After stabilization, Knox was transferred to Driscoll Children?s Hospital where he later died of blunt force trauma to the abdomen.

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Knox?s mother, Bethany Bernal, is currently in the Nueces County Jail awaiting trial for Injury to a Child by Omission in the 347th District Court in Nueces County.

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This conviction was the result of the joint efforts of the Nueces County District Attorney?s Office, Corpus Christi Police Department, the Office of the Attorney General Human Trafficking and Transnational Organized Crime Division, and the Office of the Attorney General Criminal Investigation Division.

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This case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Tagle Mireles and Assistant Attorney General Brody Burks from Texas?s Office of the Attorney General as well as Assistant District Attorney Kristi Britt.

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