Gruesome High Heel Murder Details

Stiletto heel murder scene like a real-life horror movie: Prosecutors reveal gruesome, bloody details

Ana Trujillo — who made international headlines last year after allegedly stabbing her boyfriend 25 times with a stiletto heel — appeared before a grand jury in Houston Monday as opening statements began in a murder trial that could land the former local TV host in prison for life.

Prosecutors said Trujillo, 46, repeatedly stabbed Stefan Andersson in the face and neck during an argument at the victim's Museum District condominium. Harris County assistant district attorney Sarah Mickelson compared the crime scene to a horror film, noting that police initially thought Andersson — a 59-year-old researcher and professor at the University of Houston — had been shot in the face.

Lawyers for Trujillo claimed she acted in self-defense, using the only weapon she had available to fight off a man they portrayed as an abusive alcoholic. The defense team also maintainsthat the murder weapon was more of a platform-heeled shoe than a pointed spiked heel.

"Trujillo allegedly stabbed her boyfriend two dozen times with a high-heeled shoe."

Jack Carroll, attorney for the accused, said the violent argument started after the couple spent the evening drinking at a nearby restaurant. He explained that Andersson snapped when his on-again off-again girlfriend said she leaving town to visit her daughter in Waco. In a fit of rage, he allegedly slammed her against a wall and then threw her across a couch.

"She was begging and begging him to let her go," Carroll told jurors, according to the Associated Press. "He started suffocating her . . . She did the only thing she could do."

But Harris County lawyers were quick to portray Trujillo as cunning and hot-tempered, saying she attacked Andersson when he fell onto his back during their confrontation. Several witnesses for the prosecution took to the stand, describing Andersson as kind man with a drinking problem.

"The one thing we can be sure of in this case is that Ana Trujillo is not a victim," Mickelson told the jury. "Ana Trujillo struck Stefan Andersson 25 times with the heel of her shoe while he lay on the floor and bled out."

After District Judge Brock Thomas refused to lower her bail in August, Trujillo was finally released from jail in December on a $100,000 bond. Those close to the case expect the murder trial to last at least a week.

High heels were turned into a murder weapon in a Museum District case.

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High heels were turned into a murder weapon in a Museum District case.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”