A 47-year-old San Antonio man will spend at least 30 years behind bars before he can even be considered for parole after a judge handed down a life sentence for murdering his girlfriend and burning her body in his backyard. Jeffrey Lee Devorah was sentenced on Tuesday for the 2019 killing of Tiffany Lynette Garza, whose remains were found months after she disappeared at a rural home north of Poteet.
Atascosa County's district attorney called the murder “heinous,” according to KSAT. The outlet reports Devorah was found guilty of murder in August 2026, and that the judge decided his punishment rather than a jury. KENS 5 identified the presiding judge as Russell Wilson of the 81st Judicial District Court, who delivered the sentence on September 29, 2026, after Devorah opted for bench sentencing instead of letting a jury decide his fate.
Garza was last seen alive on March 25, 2019, and per the KSAT report, she was killed and her body burned in Devorah's backyard in the Shalimar subdivision near Poteet. Investigators later determined she was killed between March 28 and April 4, 2019, according to KENS 5's account of the case timeline. Her mother had filed a missing person report with Atascosa County deputies on April 26, 2019, and investigators obtained audio evidence months after Garza disappeared.
Audio Tip Led Investigators to the Burn Pit
Shortly after Garza's April 2019 missing-person report, investigators obtained audio identifying the 600 block of Bocawood Drive, per the KSAT report. Investigators found a backyard burn pit containing human bones and bone fragments, along with blood evidence inside the house.
The recovered bones were determined to belong to a woman in Garza's age range.
Blood Evidence From the Home
Investigators submitted blood evidence recovered inside the residence to a crime lab.
Human remains were found in a burn pit in Devorah's backyard. San Antonio police arrested Devorah on March 15, KSAT reported.
What the Life Sentence Means Under Texas Law
Under Texas law, a person serving a life sentence for murder must serve at least 30 years before becoming eligible for parole consideration, per L&L Law Group's explanation of Texas Government Code § 508.145. Murder in Texas is classified as a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison, the firm notes. The 81st Judicial District Attorney's Office, led by Louis, prosecutes felony cases across a five-county rural district spanning Atascosa, Frio, Karnes, La Salle, and Wilson counties, according to the 81st District Attorney's Office.
Garza's death adds to a grim statewide pattern documented by family violence researchers. The Texas Council on Family Violence's 2024 “Honoring Texas Victims” report found that 161 Texans were killed by intimate partners that year, and that 75% of domestic homicide victims statewide had previously sought help before being killed, according to KVUE. The same research found that 60% of intimate partner homicide perpetrators had a prior history of family violence.
