He attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, and had worked as an office clerk and as a fast food worker, as well as serving as a Marine reservist.
[6] Summer, a 29-year-old native of Washington state, was working as a sex worker in Lubbock when she disappeared two days earlier, and had also been serving as a witness in a federal counterfeiting case, bringing her murder to the attention of the FBI.
[citation needed] Rodriguez was initially offered a plea deal that involved him pleading guilty to the murders of both women, but he refused at the last minute.
[9] Rodriguez's lawyer appealed the sentence based on a potential Brady disclosure violation by District Attorney Matt Powell for failing to disclose information regarding activities of the medical examiner who performed one of the autopsies.
[11] In his final statement he called for investigation of Powell and medical examiner Sridhar Natarajan, saying they had been involved in multiple wrongful convictions.