The San Antonio police said Thursday that the body they found in Comal County on Wednesday could be that of the missing woman from San Antonio. According to officials, the remains are likely to be that of Crystal Garcia, 32, a mother of four from San Antonio, Texas, who has been on the missing person list since Sept. 17.
Her mother apparently called the police to report her daughter missing after she failed to pick up her twin daughters Saturday.
The investigators visited Garcia’s apartment on Wurzbach Road and found the lights on and her car in the parking lot, KSAT reported.
Further investigations led them to find blood in the bedroom as well as traces of blood that have been cleaned up in the other areas of the apartment. They also discovered that the security camera installed in the kitchen is missing, but a camera from the apartment complex showed a man entering the apartment. The man reportedly left later, with a heavy-duty garbage bag at hand.
The arrest affidavit also said that the police has taken Francisco Javier Garcia Ventura, who was allegedly in a relationship with Garcia, into custody on Sunday, moments before he is set to board a bus to Mexico.
The affidavit said that Garcia Ventura reportedly told a family member on Sunday how he “beat his girlfriend to the point that she stopped breathing” before driving off with the body to San Marcos.
Garcia’s cousin, Luis Reta, denied the relationship saying, “Maybe they did talk at one point, but I think she just didn’t want anything to do with him.”
“It just it breaks my heart that someone would think of doing this to someone,” he shared.
He also said that the family is hoping that nothing bad happened to Garcia because “she has four kids that are waiting for her, and they want to see her.”
“They want her home,” he said.
The body, according to the police, was found after a collaborative search conducted by San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), New Braunfels police, and the Comal County Sheriff’s Office. It was discovered on Wednesday night in a field along York Creek Road near Interstate 35 after a statement from a relative of the suspect narrowed the search.
As of press time, the Central Texas Autopsy is working to identify the discovered remains, and the process could take several days before they can confirm the victim’s identity.
Meanwhile, the case which was originally handled by investigators from the Comal County Sheriff’s Office, has been turned over to SAPD after they discovered that the crime happened in San Antonio.
As of Wednesday, Garcia Ventura remained in custody with a $200,000 bond on a charge of tampering with evidence.
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