In what law enforcement officials have described as a ruthless act of violence, 23-year-old Samuel Aquim Charon has been charged with the capital murder of 63-year-old Stacey Dramiga. Dramiga, known for her regular walks along the Salado Creek Greenway trail, was reported missing on September 22, 2024, and found deceased the following day. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar characterized the murder as "definitely a savage, savage crime," according to a report from KVUE.
Charon's arrest came to conclusively be made after his DNA, collected following an unrelated charge of criminal mischief, matched samples found at the crime scene. The breakthrough in the case was significantly due to a state law that mandates authorities to collect DNA from suspects booked into jail on felony charges. "Over the course of the next several months, that sample made its way through the system to where that sample popped on CODIS and we were able to identify him," Sheriff Salazar was quoted in the KSAT article.
DNA evidence obtained from Dramiga's remains and a rock thought to be the murder weapon matched Charon's, providing investigators with the evidence needed to secure his arrest. According to Sheriff Salazar, the suspect "Didn't give any reaction whatsoever, even when provided with pretty grisly crime scene picture... Just completely devoid of any emotion at all," as reported by KVUE. Dramiga's death, resulting from blunt force and penetrating trauma to the head, and her subsequent partial burning, horrified the community.
Dramiga's family has been reported to have experienced profound grief, with a park neighbor, Dana Thomas, expressing, "This is a very sad situation, and I don’t really want to say this, but I have to: [The suspect] deserves everything the law gives him," as documented in the KVUE article. Charon, residing a mere 10-minute walk from the crime scene, was taken into custody without incident and charged with both capital murder and tampering with a human corpse. The ongoing investigation by the Bexar County Sheriff's Office seeks to further unravel the circumstances surrounding Dramiga's tragic death.
