A Houston man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Maria Jimenez-Rodriguez, a northeast Houston mother who disappeared in June 2018 and whose body has never been found.

Erik Fardell Arceneaux was sentenced August 6, 2026, about a month after a Harris County jury convicted him of murder following less than three hours of deliberation.

The case, built entirely on digital evidence, was described by prosecutors as one of the most challenging homicide trials in recent memory.