Texas Teen Accused of Murder Says She’s A Victim Of Sex Trafficking

A Texas teenager faces murder charges connected with a man’s fatal shooting, but the teenager says she’s not a killer and the man who sex-trafficked her is responsible.

17-year-old Zephaniah Trevio was 16 years old the day Carlos Arajeni-Arriaza Morillo was killed. In August of 2019, Morillo was killed by a gunshot wound while he was at the Grand Prairie Apartments. Philip Baldenegro is another Defendant in the case and has since admitted to shooting Morillo and injuring another man in an attempted robbery, Yahoo reports.

People have spoken on the 17-year-olds behalf, claiming that Trevino was sex trafficked by Baldenegro, who at the time was only 18 years old.

An online petition has received over 33,000 signatures, advocating that she was forced to perform sexual acts on the shooting victims. Trevino experienced a pattern of abuse, physical and death threats to her family, the outlet reports.

The case of the 17-year-old will be the first episode of the 11th season of the hit podcast Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom. It is set to air Thursday and will continue into 2021 with more episodes.

Prosecutors in Dallas would like to try Trevino as an adult; she is currently detained at a juvenile detention center with a hearing set for January 4.

Laws on minors prevents prosecutors from discussing the case of Trevino. However, Flom has spoken in support of Trevino.