A grim discovery on a rural Live Oak County ranch near Whitsett appears to have brought a San Antonio missing-person case to a tragic turn. Investigators say human remains found on the property are linked to the disappearance of 26-year-old Jorge Garza Perales, and that a suspect is already in custody while DNA testing works to confirm the identity.
According to investigators, surveillance video, cellphone records and license plate reader data helped them follow Garza Perales’ silver 2012 Nissan Sentra as it traveled south from San Antonio alongside a black Nissan Sentra driven by one of his roommates. Garza Perales’ car was later found in downtown San Antonio in November 2024. Inside, police reported blood evidence, cleaning supplies and an empty bleach bottle. Those details helped narrow the investigation to two roommates, as reported by News 4 San Antonio.
Who Garza Perales Was
Garza Perales was reported missing in August 2024. He was 26, living in San Antonio, when family members realized they had not heard from him and contacted authorities. The Bexar County Sheriff's Office took the initial missing-person report, and the case has circulated in local missing-person databases ever since. The original listing is archived at CrimeSolversCentral.
Arrest, Search And Evidence
Investigators say one roommate, identified as Yesid O. Villabona Leon, was arrested in North Carolina. According to law enforcement, Villabona Leon told investigators that a second roommate, Marlon Roney Vasquez-Garcia, strangled Garza Perales during a confrontation and that the two men then transported and hid his body near the Atascosa–Live Oak county line.
Guided by information from Villabona Leon, search teams later discovered human remains and clothing on a ranch near Whitsett that he had identified. Officials say DNA testing is underway to confirm the remains belong to Garza Perales. Both roommates are charged with tampering with physical evidence, and Villabona Leon also faces a murder charge, according to News 4 San Antonio.
What The Charges Mean
Under Texas law, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence is a felony-level offense. When the item destroyed, altered or concealed is a human corpse, the statute allows for a higher felony classification. Murder is defined separately in Chapter 19 of the Penal Code and carries significantly steeper penalties if prosecutors secure a conviction. The statutory language and penalty ranges are laid out in the Texas Penal Code on tampering with evidence and the Texas Penal Code section on murder.
Authorities say the investigation is still active. More details are expected once DNA testing and other forensic work are completed, and officials note that the current charges, along with the lab results, will shape how the case proceeds in court.
