Offender Record · OFF-2026-115
Diana Lumbrera (photo from the Radford University biography)
Diana Lumbrera
Sex
Female
Race
Hispanic
Height
5'8"
Born
1958
Custody
Incarcerated
States
TX, KS, MO, NM
Distinguishing features5'8" per Radford University profile
Custody
Incarcerated at Murray Unit, Texas Department of Criminal Justice · #01311191
Custody record at the facility
Parole denied June 9, 2023; next review scheduled for June 2028. Life sentence with no projected release date.
This record documents arrests, charges and convictions reported by courts, law enforcement agencies and news organizations. Every statement is tied to a cited source with an archived copy. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt; a person charged is presumed innocent unless convicted. Solve the Case does not allege that this person committed any offense beyond what the cited records state, and this record is not a suggestion that the person is connected to any unsolved case. How records are built, corrected and removed.
Summary of the record
Diana Lumbrera was convicted of first-degree murder in Kansas in 1990 for smothering her 4-year-old son Jose Antonio Lumbrera to collect insurance proceeds. She pleaded guilty to the murder of her 3-year-old daughter Melissa in Parmer County, Texas, and no contest to the death of her 2.5-month-old son Luis Garza in Lubbock County, Texas, receiving three separate life sentences. Between 1976 and 1990, she killed seven children—six of her own and one cousin—all before age five. She is currently incarcerated in Texas.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Feb 13, 1978, Friona, Lubbock County, Texas
Murder
Lubbock County District Attorney, Texas · District Court of Lubbock County, Texas · Arrested May 05, 1990 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment
Diana Lumbrera pleaded no contest (not an admission of guilt) to the death of her 2.5-month-old son. Death cause was listed as undetermined. This resulted in her third life sentence.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Lumbrera, Diana; Diana Lumbrera Murders; Diana Lumbrera
Offense date Oct 02, 1978, Friona, Parmer County, Texas
Murder in the first degree
Parmer County District Attorney, Texas · District Court of Parmer County, Texas · Texas serial-murder statute · Arrested May 05, 1990 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment
Diana Lumbrera pleaded guilty to first-degree murder of her 3-year-old daughter. She faced possible death penalty under new serial-murder statute. Cause of death: strangulation due to aspiration of stomach contents.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Lumbrera, Diana; Diana Lumbrera Murders; Diana Lumbrera
Offense date May 01, 1990, Garden City, Kansas
First-degree murder
Garden City Police Department, Kansas · District Court of Finney County, Kansas · Arrested May 05, 1990 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment with 15-year minimum before parole eligibility
Diana Lumbrera was convicted of first-degree murder in Kansas for the smothering death of her 4-year-old son. State alleged she smothered the child to collect $5,000 life insurance proceeds. Initial conviction reversed in 1992 by Kansas Supreme Court; retried and reconvicted in 1995.
Sources7 Children Die: Murder Or Curse?; TDCJ Inmate Search - Inmate Details; State v. Lumbrera (252 Kan. 54, 845 P.2d 609); State v. Lumbrera (891 P.2d 1096, 257 Kan. 144); Diana Lumbrera
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
4
Victims convicted
4
Victims confessed
7
Victims suspected
Active years
1976–1990
Victim profile
Children, Family members
Stated motive
Financial gain
Range from home
local
Confessed
Yes
Education
some high school
Marital history
Married, Divorced
Children
6
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
KS
Garden City, Kansas
1985 – 1990 · Moved to Garden City; last child Jose Antonio born and killed here
Garden City, Kansas
approx. 1985 – 1990 · Meat packer; Nursing home (Canterbury Villa, 1985)
Garden City, Kansas
May 05, 1990 – May 05, 1990
MO
Kansas City, Missouri
Jun 1990 – Sep 2004 · Kansas state prison
NM
Clovis, New Mexico
approx. 1977 – 1978 · Where some children were born
TX
Friona, Texas
1958 – 1974 · Birthplace; lived with parents Albino Lumbrera and Juanita Hernandez
Bovina, Texas
1974 – 1976 · Married to Rodolfo Carrillo
Friona, Texas
approx. 1976 – 1985 · Meat packer
Friona, Texas
1977 – 1985 · Lived with second husband Lionel Garza; multiple children born and died here
Muleshoe, Texas
approx. 1979 – 1980 · Where daughter Melinda Ann was born; location of cousin's daughter's death
Dimmitt, Texas
approx. 1983 – 1984 · Where child Christopher Daniel was born and died
Winters, Texas
Sep 07, 2004 – present · Mountain View Unit, Texas Department of Criminal Justice (transferred to Murray Unit)
Timeline
Nov 21, 1958
Diana Lumbrera born in Friona, Texas to Albino Lumbrera and Juanita Hernandez Lumbrera, first of seven children.
Dec 24, 1972
At age 14, Diana Lumbrera married Rodolfo Carrillo (age 18) and moved to Bovina, Texas.
1974
Diana's first husband Rodolfo Carrillo left her; she met Lionel Garza.
Mar 14, 1975
Diana Lumbrera gave birth to daughter Melissa Lumbrera in Bovina, Texas.
Aug 18, 1976
Diana Lumbrera gave birth to daughter Joanna Lumbrera in Friona, Texas.
Nov 30, 1976
Diana Lumbrera's daughter Joanna Lumbrera (3 months old) died at Parmer County Community Hospital; cause listed as strangulation due to aspiration of stomach contents.
Feb 19, 1977
Diana Lumbrera married Lionel G. Garza (age 19) in Parmer County, Texas.
Nov 28, 1977
Diana Lumbrera gave birth to son Luís Garza in Clovis, Curry County, New Mexico.
Feb 13, 1978
Diana Lumbrera's son Luís Garza (2.5 months old) died at Parmer County Community Hospital; cause listed as undetermined.
Oct 02, 1978
Diana Lumbrera's daughter Melissa Lumbrera (3 years old) died at Parmer County Community Hospital; cause listed as strangulation due to aspiration of stomach contents.
Nov 29, 1979
Diana Lumbrera gave birth to daughter Melinda Ann Garza in Muleshoe, Texas.
1980
Lionel Garza filed for divorce from Diana Lumbrera.
Oct 08, 1980
Diana Lumbrera's cousin's daughter Ericka Leonor Aleman (6 weeks old) died at West Plains Medical Hospital in Muleshoe, Texas; cause listed as undetermined.
1982
Diana Lumbrera's divorce from Lionel Garza became official.
Aug 17, 1982
Diana Lumbrera's daughter Melinda Ann Garza (2 years old) died at her home in Friona, Texas; cause listed as acute heart failure.
Oct 10, 1983
Diana Lumbrera gave birth to son Christopher Daniel Marcos in Clovis, New Mexico.
Mar 28, 1984
Diana Lumbrera's son Christopher Daniel Marcos (5.5 months old) died at Plains Memorial Hospital in Dimmitt, Texas; cause listed as septicemia.
1985
Diana Lumbrera's mother died in Bovina, Texas at age 46; Diana moved to Garden City, Kansas.
Feb 21, 1986
Diana Lumbrera gave birth to son José Antonio Lumbrera in Garden City, Kansas.
May 01, 1990
Diana Lumbrera's 4-year-old son José Antonio Lumbrera died; authorities later determined he was smothered by his mother.
May 05, 1990
Diana Lumbrera arrested in Kansas for the alleged murder of José Antonio Lumbrera.
Jun 12, 1990
Diana Lumbrera had preliminary hearing in Kansas.
Oct 03, 1990
Diana Lumbrera convicted of first-degree murder in Kansas for the death of José Antonio Lumbrera.
Apr 23, 1991
Diana Lumbrera found guilty of first-degree murder for the deaths of her daughters Melissa and Melinda and son Christopher Daniel in Texas courts.
May 30, 1991
Diana Lumbrera sentenced in Parmer County, Texas to life imprisonment for murder of daughter Melissa.
Jun 1991
Diana Lumbrera began serving her time in a Kansas prison after Texas trial and sentencing.
Jun 06, 1991
Diana Lumbrera sentenced in Lubbock County, Texas to life imprisonment for death of son Luís Garza.
Dec 11, 1992
Kansas Supreme Court reversed Diana Lumbrera's 1990 first-degree murder conviction due to cumulative trial errors that deprived her of fair trial.
Mar 10, 1995
Diana Lumbrera retried and reconvicted of first-degree murder in Kansas; conviction affirmed by Kansas Supreme Court.
Sep 07, 2004
Diana Lumbrera released from Kansas prison and transferred to Mountain View Unit of Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Jun 09, 2023
Diana Lumbrera's parole request denied by Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles; next review scheduled for June 2028.
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
Other government record · Texas Department of Criminal Justice ·
TDCJ Inmate Search - Inmate Details“LUMBRERA,DIANA L Race: H Gender: F Age: 67 Current Facility: MURRAY Projected Release Date: LIFE SENTENCE”
News report · Serial Killer Calendar ·
Diana Lumbrera“That conviction was reversed by the Kansas Supreme Court in 1992 for cumulative trial errors; she was retried, convicted again of first-degree murder, and the second conviction was affirmed on March 10, 1995.”
Other government record · City of Garden City, Kansas ·
Diana Lumbrera Murders“Convicted of murder after less than an hour of deliberation, Diana was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of fifteen years before the possibility parole.”
Other government record · Texas Department of Criminal Justice ·
TDCJ Inmate Search - Parole Review“Denied on 06/09/2023 NEXT REVIEW (06/2028)”
Other · Radford University Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Lumbrera, Diana“Still serving time in Texas as of November 18, 2012”
News report · Murderpedia ·
Diana Lumbrera“Diana Lumbrera is an American woman sentenced to life in prison in Kansas and Texas for the murders of 6 of her own children and a cousin between 1976 and 1990.”
Court record · Kansas Supreme Court ·
State v. Lumbrera (891 P.2d 1096, 257 Kan. 144)“Diana Lumbrera appeals her jury trial conviction of first-degree murder”
Court record · Kansas Supreme Court ·
State v. Lumbrera (252 Kan. 54, 845 P.2d 609)“Diana Lumbrera appeals her jury trial conviction of first-degree murder”
News report · Seattle Times ·
7 Children Die: Murder Or Curse?“A jury in Garden City, Kan., took only three hours last October to determine that she smothered Jose Antonio Lumbrera on May 1, 1990. She was sentenced to life in prison.”
Discussion
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