Carrollton man charged with wife's murder less than a month of marriage: affidavit

CARROLLTON, Texas - Carrollton Police say a man arrested last week was charged with murder after a domestic dispute turned deadly.

Francisco Mendez-Marin

Murder suspect arrested in Carrollton

What we know:

On March 18 at around 4:40 a.m., Carrollton Police responded to a call about a disturbance at an apartment located in the 1700 block of Metrocrest Drive. 

Officers discovered a victim with an injury to her throat who was not breathing. Police found two individuals in the apartment, including 23-year-old Francisco Mendez-Marin, who was found with blood on his clothes and a bloody pocket knife.

The arrest affidavit states that the officer's body camera footage shows the suspect saying, "I didn't do anything bad" and "I was obligated to do it" in Spanish. Officers then determined Marin-Mendez committed the offense and arrested him, charging him with murder.

Officials found a marriage license dated to Feb. 26, 2026 in the suspect's apartment showing the victim, 20-year-old Karla Rangel, was married to Mendez-Marin. 

Carrollton PD later confirmed the incident began as a domestic dispute before turning violent. Another individual was in the apartment at the time of the incident.

Mendez-Marin was taken to the Carrollton City Jail and later moved to Dallas County Jail. He is also currently on an immigration hold.

What we don't know:

We don't know what Mendez-Marin's bond has been set at or the status of the other individual in the apartment at the time of the incident.