A Texas man has been charged with tampering with a corpse after he allegedly hid his girlfriend’s body earlier this month — and he may soon be charged with murder after a body was found in the search for Christelrose Angel Ramirez.
Ramirez’s family say investigators told them Jesus Varela shot Ramirez in her sleep and then forced his nephew to help him “bag her up” and dispose of the body, KPRC reports.
Ramirez’s body was found a week ago. Family members said identified the body, but it has not been formally identified. Varela has so far been charged with tampering, assault of a family member, and unlawful restraint.
Court records and statements at Varela’s probable cause hearing say he killed Ramirez and then forced his nephew to help him “dispose” of the evidence, including the mattress she was lying on when she was killed. Court records say he threatened and assaulted the nephew. Prosecutors said he hit the nephew, grabbed him by the shirt, and told him he’d already killed one person and wanted to kill another.
The investigation began on December 6 when a woman reported that someone had killed Ramirez, her friend, KTRK said. Investigators responded to the home she shared with Varela and Varela’s nephew, and the nephew said that Varela had killed Ramirez on December 1.
The documents say Varela and the nephew put Ramirez’s body into four trash bags and sealed that inside a barrel, KTRK said. Varela drove it away and dumped it near the intersection of Highway 249 and Ella. The mattress was later found at an apartment complex elsewhere.
Houston police and Varela’s attorney expect more charges once the body is formally identified and a cause of death is determined.
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[Featured image: Jesus Valera/Harris County Sheriff’s Office]