Julie Serna, Art Gonzales: ‘Dateline’ Airs Case Of Ex-FBI Agent Who Killed Wife In Fatal Shooting In Virginia


Julie Serna Gonzales, the mother-of-two who was shot and killed by her estranged husband, former FBI agent Art Gonzales, will be the next interesting story to make the cut for Dateline NBC. This latest episode entitled, “The Agent’s Wife,” will look into the terrifying events that led to the fatal shooting death of the former Las Cruces, New Mexico, mother-of-two. Dateline NBC has been following the case for years and has watched closely as new details have emerged. The Art Gonzales case has been in the news since April, 2013, and has gone through three trials.

Julie Serna Gonzales in happier times with her two sons.
Julie Serna Gonzales in happier times with her two sons. Photo Credit: Eric Olsen, Stafford Commonwealth’s Attorney/Facebook

Police were dispatched to a home located at 59 Alderwood Drive in Virginia, where they found the body of a Hispanic woman lying dead on the kitchen floor. The home belonged to the victim’s estranged husband, Arthur Bernard Gonzales, a former FBI agent. Gonzales told law enforcement officials that he shot his wife in self defense after she came at him with a knife. To protect himself, he shot her with his.40-caliber Glock. The dead woman was identified as Julie Serna, aka Julie Serna Gonzales. Before the killing that day, Julie Serna had just finished having lunch with a friend.

In the infamous 911 call, Arthur Gonzales, casually told the operator that he had to shoot his wife because she attacked him. The 911 call was heavily criticized because the dispatcher was unable to get the correct spelling of the street name. The dispatch call also came in to the Las Cruces dispatch center, instead of the one in Virginia, according to the Las Cruces Sun News.

Art Gonzales on trial for the death of his wife.
The Trial of Art Gonzales Photo Credit: Walter Michot/Twitter

An autopsy report concluded that the Julie Serna Gonzales had sustained four gunshot wounds to the chest. She was buried by her loving family a short time later. Family and friends took up donations in order to establish some sort of trust fund for the two sons that she left behind. A Facebook page has been created in her memory.

Julie Serna was described by people who knew her as a wonderful woman who loved her kids. She was also described as a woman who liked to smile and keep physically fit.

Arthur Gonzales has maintained that he did not plan to kill his wife but felt compelled to protect himself after she violently confronted him with a weapon in hand. Those who support Julie Serna Gonzales don’t buy his story.

Art and Julie Gonzalez were married for almost 20 years and had just bought the home in Virginia in 2010, before the tragic twist of events. Some believe that a jittery and stressed out Gonzalez reacted too quickly due to the pressures that were going on in his life at the time. Others say that he concocted a plan to murder his wife for his own benefits.

A short timeline of events makes the case a bit easier to understand.

On Friday, April 19, 2013, Julie finishes up lunch with a friend. She is later shot and killed in the home of her estranged husband. In May, 2013, Art Gonzales is finally arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Julie Serna. In October, 2013, he is supposed to head for trial, but the case is postponed. In March, 2014, Arthur B. Gonzales’ first trial begins.

Many community members believed that Art Gonzales was receiving special treatment because of his work as a former FBI agent, stating that upon his arrest the same judge had issued a bond amount that was several hundred thousand dollars less than other criminals that had court dates around the same time. Some also believed that there was a cover-up surrounding the case. These are some of the theories that Dateline NBC will be examining tonight.

Don’t miss Dateline NBC’s latest true-crime case on Friday at 10/9 central on NBC. After the show, sound off below to state your opinion about whether Art Gonzales killed his wife, Julie Serna, in self defense — or, if Art Gonzales is a former FBI agent turned murderer. See the tease below. Check out Inquisitr’s recent Dateline NBC stories featuring the case of Susan Casey and Justin Michael.

“The wife of an FBI agent is found shot to death in the kitchen of her Virginia home. Then came the day that would change everything for them both. What could have gone wrong?”

[Photo Credit: Juliestrong in Memory of Julie Serna/Facebook

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