Benito Flores, 38, made his arrival into the world in the back seat of a 1956 Chevy in Austin, Texas. His parents, Seraphina and Thomas Flores, were on their way to Seraphina's parents' house, but Benito was born before they could make it there.
Benito was an only child, and his parents were thrilled to have him, even though they were constantly strapped for money throughout his childhood.
Benito struggled to get through school but managed to graduate. However, he had started using drugs during high school, and his grades were below average. As a result, he found that he didn't have the qualifications for the positions he applied for, so Benito started taking odd jobs.
But the income from the odd jobs was unreliable, and sometimes Benito had to choose between paying rent and buying food. When money got really tight, he'd sell a little of his personal dope stash to acquaintances just to get by. Soon, he was regularly supplementing his earnings that way.
He went out with many different women, but he never got serious about anyone until the night he met Raquel Santos. He spotted her at a singles dance in Austin five years ago, and they began dating. Benito became so captivated by her that he asked her to move in with him, and she agreed. Things weren't always rosy in the Flores house in those days because both of them were drug users, and most of their income went for those drugs.
A friend visiting from Oxford, Mississippi, told Benito that there was plenty of work in Oxford, so he and Raquel moved there. He found a job working part-time for Philip Fontaine, doing whatever work Mr. Fontaine's handyman, Joey Beecher, assigned to him.
Benito heard the Fontaines needed a new maid and told Raquel she should try for it, since that's what she had been doing in Austin. She applied and got the job.
Shortly after Benito started working at the Fontaines', he and Mr. Fontaine's son, Grant, became friendly. They may have thought that no one had noticed their friendship, but before long, Joey Beecher accused Benito of selling drugs to Grant and fired him on the spot.
Since his dismissal from the Fontaines, Benito has worked sporadically as a day laborer but has never seemed short of cash.