SAN ANTONIO – A second suspect was taken into custody this week after a woman allegedly tampered with the body of her father-in-law.
San Antonio police arrested Alyssa Herrera, 36, on Tuesday, jail records show. She is accused of tampering with physical evidence, a third-degree felony.
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Herrera was officially booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center just after 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday. County court records show a judge set her bond at $150,000.
Herrera is married to Daniel Sebastian Ordonez, 31, and was the daughter-in-law of Daniel Antonio Ordonez, 54. The elder Ordonez’s body was found in a bloody bag in the backyard of his home located in the 3100 block of Vera Cruz.
SAPD first took the younger Ordonez into custody on an evidence tampering charge on April 9 before Herrera was arrested and charged this week.
Daniel Antonio Ordonez reported missing
According to police, a relative — who does not live in San Antonio — reported the elder Ordonez as missing on April 4. The relative, who had access to his cellphone and smartwatch, noticed unusual activity on those devices and called police.
Officers and the victim’s girlfriend met at the cellphone’s location: a property the elder Ordonez owned in the 300 block of West Theo Avenue near Interstate 35, SAPD said.
Investigators later found a truck belonging to Ordonez in the back of the Theo Avenue property. Upon its discovery, officers said they discovered the truck had an “apparent bullet hole” through the driver side’s “rear window.”
Ordonez’s daughter asked her brother (Sebastian Ordonez) and Herrera to meet police at the Theo Avenue location.
Herrera and her husband lived with Ordonez’s father at the home on Vera Cruz. The younger Ordonez gave police permission to search the Vera Cruz home, which included a structure behind the primary home. Sebastian Ordonez warned officers that the rear structure’s door was locked, according to Herrera’s arrest affidavit.
Investigators said they later located a large black trash bag in the rear structure of the property with “blood” leaking from the bag. According to the affidavit, officers poked a hole in the bag and saw what was inside: a dead male later identified as Daniel Antonio Ordonez.
At the time, police said Sebastian Ordonez and Herrera were detained for questioning.
CSI arrives on scene
SAPD’s crime scene investigative (CSI) unit were soon called to the scene.
The unit, while using a substance that exposes the presence of blood if it has been cleaned or not, discovered blood was scattered in and around the home on Vera Cruz, court documents state.
Police noted several security camera mounts around the home no longer had security cameras mounted on them. Investigators said two other vehicles belonging to the elder Ordonez were also moved to separate locations.
The victim’s truck
Sebastian Ordonez and Herrera told officers that they were with the elder Ordonez throughout Easter weekend. Herrera denied any involvement in connection with Antonio Ordonez’s death.
However, further police investigation determined a red Toyota Prius was following a person driving the victim’s truck just before 2 p.m. on April 7 along South Zarzamora Street. The truck was in the process of being moved to the victim’s property on West Theo Avenue.
Approximately 48 minutes later, investigators said Sebastian Ordonez called 911 and requested a welfare check at the property. A neighbor to the West Theo Avenue later told police they saw a male near the victim’s truck “banging” on the property’s fence on April 7 before he entered the Toyota Prius and drove away.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office said Antonio Ordonez died from a gunshot wound to the head and ruled his death as a homicide. Police said no shell casings were recovered from the home on Vera Cruz.
Purchases surface on victim’s bank account
After a search warrant was executed, police gained access to the victim’s cellphone and his most recent bank purchases via an application.
According to his banking app, multiple purchases were made in the three days (April 4-6) leading up to the April 7 welfare check call to SAPD.
On April 4, investigators said purchases were made with the victim’s debit card at a Walmart location. Among the items purchased were black duct tape, towels and a “mummy-style sleeping bag.” Police also obtained surveillance video from the Walmart, which indicated Sebastian Ordonez used the debit card to make those purchases.
A series of purchases at a Home Depot location also appeared to link Sebastian Ordonez, as well. According to the affidavit, the younger Ordonez was seen on Home Depot surveillance video buying gloves, a shovel, a sledgehammer, acrylic sheets and 100 pounds of concrete mix, among other items that were discovered at the home in the 3100 block of Vera Cruz.
The relative, who reported Antonio Ordonez missing, told officers that the victim wasn’t known to share his bank account information or purchases with anyone else.
Herrera is expected back in court for a pre-indictment hearing on July 13.
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