Editor’s note: This story about a San Angelo murder contains details that may be disturbing.
San Angelo police have arrested the father of murder suspect Audrey Reannan Troncoso on suspicion of being involved in hiding and disposing of a murder victim’s remains, police said in a media release Thursday afternoon.
Mario Valdes Troncoso Jr. was charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in connection with the death of 34-year-old Roland Matthew Sheppard of San Angelo, police said.
An anonymous tip led police to the discovery of Sheppard’s “horrendous dismemberment” and the arrest of Audrey Reannan Troncoso, 31, of San Angelo, who was charged with murder in connection with his killing, the police chief said earlier Thursday.
Investigators have found dismembered remains of Sheppard and believe he was murdered sometime Tuesday in the 1400 block of Parker Street, San Angelo police Chief Travis Griffith said in a videoed press conference Thursday morning. The remains of the man Audrey Troncoso had a “live-in relationship” with were found in multiple locations.
She was booked into the Tom Green County Jail on Wednesday and was still being held Thursday on a $2 million bond, online jail records show.
“Audrey did ultimately confess to violently murdering the victim by shooting, stabbing and ultimately dismembering the victim,” Griffith said.
Murder is a first-degree felony punishable by 5 to 99 years or life in prison. Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Griffith said the San Angelo Police Department received a Crime Stoppers tip Wednesday morning, and when they began investigating, they found substance to it.
“The investigation led to a dumpster at an apartment complex … on Baker Street,” Griffith said. “Detectives were able to discover that that dumpster had already been picked up emptied by the trash company.”
They tracked down the trash truck and searched its contents, he said. They found clothing that appeared to be freshly bloodied, as well as a big piece of bloody carpet.
Detectives found there was a live-in relationship between Troncoso and Sheppard, as well as growing evidence to support a homicide finding, Griffith said. Detectives got a search warrant for residents in the 1400 block of Parker Street.
“Detectives executed that search warrant and detained the suspect at that location,” Griffith said.
As the search continued at Republic Services landfill at 3002 Old Ballinger Highway, parts of the victim’s remains were found there, Griffith said.
Detective are working through multiple locations of the victim’s remains, which is the nature of an investigation in “such a horrendous dismemberment,” Griffith said. But the majority of the remains were confined to the landfill and the Parker Street location.
The chief said there’s a possible motive that police are not releasing at this time.
“We want to make sure that we establish a clear motive and not just one that’s been reported by the suspect,” Griffith said.
“There’s several aspects of this case as we continue working through the autopsy, working through interviews nd follow-ups that will take place. Ask that you be praying for those that are involved. And with that, I will take questions.”
He said a lot of people might think they have to automatically go to the police, but Crime Stoppers is a legally protected option.
“It’s a crime for us to release who that, individual could or could not be,” he said.
He said anyone who has more information on the murder or any other crime to call Crime Stoppers.
San Angelo Crime Stoppers can be reached at 325-658-HELP or 325-658-4357.
This is a developing story. Check back with gosanangelo.com for updates.
Trish Choate is the executive editor for the Abilene Reporter-News, San Angelo Standard-Times and Wichita Falls Times Record News. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@USATodayco.com. Read her recent work here.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: NEW San Angelo police arrest murder suspect’s father
Reporting by Trish Choate, San Angelo Standard-Times / San Angelo Standard-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Trish Choate, San Angelo Standard-Times | USA TODAY Network
