Texas Mom Was Murdered by Stalker Who Claimed He'd Paid Her Thousands at Strip Club: Police

Stanley Szeliga complained he paid Abigail Saldañ thousands of dollars at her strip club before killing her, according to police. Just hours before she was shot dead, Szeliga posted on Instagram that he had paid her $3,000, accusing her of being a prostitute, an arrest warrant affidavit claims.

According to the warrant, obtained by Fort Worth Star-Telegram, when detectives found her car with her dead body inside, they also found clothes "consistent with those worn by exotic dancers" inside.

Since the shooting happened near Rick's Cabaret strip club, they approached the manager to see if he knew the victim; he confirmed she worked there, but had not on the night of the murder.

The manager told police she had recently been harassed by a customer he knew as "Stan."

Police say that before Saldaña was killed, Szeliga posted on Instagram: "I never thought I'd be one of those guys taken advantage of. Sharing for awareness. Abigail S. and I, since July 2021, we have been enjoying each other's company. She's so beautiful and personable that I envisioned a future with her. But dealing with all the lies is overwhelming, I realize that's part of your primary job as an adult entertainer."

"If you only leave your second job, being in a high-end prostitution ring we could move forward. Yes, this pays $2000 per session, but it's illegal. And having a boyfriend whilst having sex with other men?!"

He claimed he had made other Zelle payments to her of $200, $800 and $1,000.

License plate reader records showed that that Szeliga had followed Saldana at times, and was recorded at the same intersection as her.

On the day of the shooting, police called Szeliga and asked him to come in, and he agreed. He then claimed there was a death in the family, and agreed to come in later, but never did.

When detectives called to his home, he refused to come out. Police say he then shot himself in the neck before he was brought out by officers.

A young Texas mother who found a tracking device on her car two weeks ago has been found shot dead.

Abigail Saldaña, 22, posted a video to her Instagram page after making the creepy discovery.

"This was literally on my car like this," she explained in the video, showing the magnetic device stuck under the rear bumper of her car. "This is why you have to be careful... I don't really know what to do, moving forward with this. But this definitely looks like a tracker to me."

She then takes the device home, and opens up the protective case. "So this is so crazy you guys... so crazy. Like who would do this?"

Two weeks later, the mother-of-one was dead.

Responding to reports of a car crash on Amon Carter Boulevard on Tuesday night, Fort Worth police found the 22-year-old in her silver sedan, stopped on a grassy verge beside the road.

She had been shot once, the bullet going through her right arm and into her back.

Saldaña was pronounced dead at the scene. Her death has been ruled a homicide.

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, a 911 caller reported seeing the car speeding on the highway before it suddenly veered off; they said the rear windshield appeared to have a bullet hole, and there appeared to be no-one in the moving car.

On Thursday, police arrested 54-year-old Stanley Szeliga for murder. He is being held on a $250,000 bond.

Detectives said they were investigating if the tracker was connected to him. They have not revealed a motive.

"There is a tracker on this vehicle that we have identified," Fort Worth police officer Tracy Carter told NBC DFW. "We don't know how long that tracker has been on. That's something our detectives are looking into."

Saldaña's mother Jessica Contreras said her daughter knew she was being stalked, and had managed to take photos of a car she believed was following her and take down the license plate, after finding the tracker.

She said she encouraged her daughter to report it to the police — but she doesn't think she did.

"I don't know where she was going that night," she told the Star-Telegram. "We got a text about 6:30 PM that night, and the shooting happened about two hours later.”

She said she has no idea who Szeliga is.

"I don't know the connection between those two, but apparently he had been following her," Contreras told Fox 4.

"When I got the phone call about the arrest this morning, with all the hurt you get a little bit of peace," she added.

"He can't hurt anyone and he's going to have to answer to me why he took my daughter. And I'm not going to stop. I will fight and I will fight. He took my pride. He took my joy."

Originally from Wichita Falls, Saldaña had moved to Dallas two years ago with her five-year-old son.