Lee County woman found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity

LEE COUNTY, Texas - Three and a half years after the murder of a man in Lee County, a judge ruled the suspect was not guilty by reason of insanity. 

On March 27, 2021, the body of 35-year-old Christopher Michael Gonzales was found near County Road 306 in Blue, Texas. 

44-year-old Jennifer Redden Kramer, a Blue resident, was charged with his murder.

Monica Gonzales, Christopher's sister, says the two met in Austin. 

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"He was on the side of the road, trying to make money off of 290 and Cameron Road in Austin. [Jennifer] approached him and offered him money. Instead of accepting the money that she had, which was about $200 or $300, he asked if there was work that he could do for her to earn that. That's how that all began. There was supposed to be some sort of business venture and landscaping that she was helping him with," she said.

The morning of his death, an argument broke out as they were in Austin. 

"I think that whatever they were arguing about, I think it was just my brother was done with the relationship, business relationship, personal relationship, whatever they had, I think that he was going to sever ties with her, and she did not want that to happen," Monica said.

Later that night, the two were driving back towards Lee County, and he fell asleep.

Court documents say Kramer said she had already "seen his death" and she stabbed him with a machete and dragged him out of the car. The report says there were "32 sharp force injuries." She told detectives "she learned where to stab someone from the movie Pulp Fiction."

"I don't think that she was insane. I think that she should have gotten life in prison without parole. I think that she knew what she was doing. I think it was very premeditated. I think that because of the evil that she is, that she should be behind bars so that she doesn't hurt another family like ours has been hurt," Monica said. 

"I do not believe that she was insane. I saw her in person. My daughter won't be able to have her father walk her down the aisle, be there to protect her like he should be. She took that away from us," Diana Arnold, the mother of Christopher's youngest daughter, said.

After various hearings and psychiatric evaluations over the past three years, the judge ruled Tuesday that Jennifer was not guilty by reason of insanity.

Christopher's family wants people to remember him as a positive person who was taken too soon. 

"It hurts all of us deeply... What hurts me the most is to see what my dad's going through," Elizabeth Anguiano, Christopher's sister, said. "To have his life cut off at 35 just seems so unfair. She can get out any time. She doesn't deserve to enjoy birthdays. She doesn't deserve to enjoy holidays... to enjoy her father. I mean, my brother didn't. I just don't think that it's right that she can get out and have a normal life, and my brother's gone. It doesn't matter what we do. We're never going to get him back."

"I want the world to know that he was a good person. He was a good father, a good brother, a good son. He tried his best to do what he could in the world to make it a better place," Moncia said.

Court records say Kramer will be evaluated for treatment at the North Texas State Hospital.

Paul Goeke, Kramer's attorney, says Kramer's condition was the worst he's seen in his 30 years of experience. 

"The ruling was the only fair ruling possible in the case," he said. 

Goeke says three forensic psychiatrists saw her, two hired by the state and one by the defense. All believed she was not guilty by reason of insanity. 

Kramer could be in a residential psychiatric treatment facility for life. 

"She did not know her conduct was wrong because she didn't believe that Christopher Gonzales was a human being. She believed he was shifting between Satan and Jesus, and she was afraid that he would kill her when he was in his Satan mode. It is remarkably complex," he said. 

He also expresses his sympathy for the victim's family. 

"It's a tragic case. I feel sorry for his family," he said. "The family has my genuine sympathy."