Body found in Comal County could be missing San Antonio woman, Crystal Garcia, police say

Man in custody in connection with the case

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio police said Thursday that a body found in Comal County on Wednesday could be that of Crystal Garcia, 32.

The body was found Wednesday night in a field along York Creek Road near Interstate 35 during a collaborated search between SAPD, New Braunfels police and the Comal County Sheriff’s Office.

Police said Central Texas Autopsy is working to identify the remains, which could take several days.

Garcia, who is a mother of four, has been missing since Sept. 17. Garcia’s mother called the police for a welfare check on Saturday when she didn’t come to pick up her twin daughters.

Police found the lights on in Garcia’s apartment on Wurzbach Road and her car in the parking lot.

Investigators found blood on a bedroom wall and evidence of blood throughout the apartment that had been cleaned up. A security camera that had been in the kitchen was missing but a camera from the apartment complex showed a man entering her apartment and then later leaving with a heavy-duty garbage bag, according to an affidavit.

On Sunday, a family member of Francisco Javier Garcia Ventura called police to say Ventura had “confessed to them that he beat his girlfriend to the point that she stopped breathing” and said Ventura had taken her body to San Marcos.

Francisco Javier Garcia Ventura is charged with tampering with physical evidence. (KSAT)

Police took Garcia Ventura into custody on Sunday moments before he was to board a bus headed to Mexico City, according to an arrest affidavit.

The arrest affidavit states that Garcia Ventura is Garcia’s boyfriend, but Garcia’s family disputed that.

“Maybe they did talk at one point, but I think she just didn’t want anything to do with him,” Garcia’s cousin, Luis Reta said.

As of Wednesday, Garcia Ventura remained in jail on a $200,000 bond on a charge of tampering with evidence.

The Comal County Sheriff’s Office initially started investigating the case but turned it over to the San Antonio police after determining the woman was killed here.

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About the Authors:

Julie Moreno has worked in local television news for more than 25 years. She came to KSAT as a news producer in 2000. After producing thousands of newscasts, she transitioned to the digital team in 2015. She writes on a wide variety of topics from breaking news to trending stories and manages KSAT’s daily digital content strategy.

Brina is the Executive Producer of the NightBeat and KSAT Explains. She has been with KSAT since 2015. She is a Houston native and proud to call San Antonio home.