Man searched 'how long fingerprints last' after he wrapped girlfriend's body in 'distinctive' blanket and set it on fire: Sheriff

A Texas antheral allegedly acceptable his girlfriend's body connected occurrence successful 2019 but remained escaped until Sunday, erstwhile caller exertion fto cops excavation incriminating information from his cellphone.

Joey Emiliano Tovar-Vargas, 24, is accused of tampering with evidence, namely a corpse, successful the decease of 20-year-old Meagan Gonzales, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office announced connected Sunday.

Gonzales was past seen with Tovar-Vargas successful her motortruck connected Nov. 11, 2019, successful San Antonio, Sheriff Javier Salazar told reporters. She was reported missing 4 days later.

Authorities recovered her motortruck connected Dec. 2, 2019, astatine an flat analyzable successful the 5300 block of Northwest Loop 410. Blood was inside. The adjacent day, cops recovered her assemblage successful a tract successful the 12000 artifact of Wisdom Road, much than 20 miles distant from her vehicle.

Salazar said her assemblage was burned, severely decomposed and wrapped successful a broad with "distinctive" patterns that would aboriginal beryllium cardinal successful arresting Tovar-Vargas years later.

Although investigators agelong suspected Tovar-Vargas successful Gonzales' death, they had been incapable to cod immoderate grounds against him. That changed erstwhile the acold lawsuit portion took different look astatine her disappearance starting past year. New exertion allowed them to further analyse information collected connected Tovar-Vargas' phone, which yielded a "treasure trove" of caller evidence, Salazar said.

Location information showed the fishy was successful the country wherever cops recovered immoderate of Gonzales' property, the sheriff stated. Detectives besides learned helium allegedly searched "how agelong fingerprints last" on with different accusation specified arsenic ways to delete societal media.

Several photos besides showed the broad that wrapped the assemblage wrong the suspect's home, Salazar said. In addition, a witnesser came guardant to accidental they saw Tovar-Vargas dumping grounds successful the days pursuing the homicide, according to Salazar.

Although cops gathered capable grounds to complaint him with tampering with a corpse, they person yet to complaint him with murder.

"In a transgression investigation, there's there's what you judge happened, and there's what you tin beryllium happened," Salazar said. "So portion we judge we cognize what happened, we judge that evidently that Mr. Tovar is … liable successful what yet happened to Meagan. What we tin beryllium astatine this constituent is that helium disposed of her body."

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Tovar-Vargas is successful the Bexar County Jail connected a $200,000 bond. His adjacent tribunal day is scheduled for March 29.

Eddie Gonzales, the victim's father, remembered having a imagination wherever helium told his girl helium would marque definite the idiosyncratic liable would beryllium held accountable, helium said successful an interrogation with section CBS affiliate KENS. He went to her altar aft the arrest.

"I told her, 'Meagan, it looks similar you're getting your justness that I promised you,'" helium said. "Meagan, I anticipation you get immoderate remainder now, arsenic I'm getting it."