Two relatives by marriage now face charges, but police have not announced a murder suspect.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Two people are accused of tampering with evidence after Daniel Antonio Ordonez, 54, was found shot to death in a trash bag behind a West Side home, police said.
The charges against Daniel Sebastian Ordonez, 31, and Alyssa Sophia Herrera, 36, focus on the alleged concealment of the body and evidence, not on the fatal shooting itself. The legal gap is central to the case. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide from a gunshot wound to the head, but San Antonio police have not publicly named a murder suspect or announced a murder charge.
Daniel Sebastian Ordonez was arrested first. He is the victim’s son and lived with him at a home in the 3100 block of Vera Cruz Street, according to police records summarized by local outlets. He is charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and failing to report human remains. Herrera, his wife, was arrested days later and booked on a charge of tampering with physical evidence. Police said they believe the couple concealed, altered or destroyed evidence connected to the killing. Both charges are tied to what investigators say happened after Daniel Antonio Ordonez was already dead.
The case began as a missing-person report. A family member living outside San Antonio contacted police after noticing odd activity on Daniel Antonio Ordonez’s cellphone and smartwatch. Officers used location information to go to a property he owned on West Theo Avenue. There, they found the victim’s phone and keys buried in soil in a plant pot. A vehicle at the property had what appeared to be a bullet hole in the driver’s-side rear window. Those findings suggested violence, but the body was not found at that first property.
Police said the next turn came when Daniel Sebastian Ordonez and Herrera arrived while officers were at the Theo Avenue location. The son told officers that his father lived with them at the Vera Cruz Street home. The couple allowed officers to search the house. In a structure behind the home, police found a black trash bag on clear plastic sheeting with what appeared to be blood leaking from it. Officers opened or checked the bag and found the elder Ordonez’s body. Investigators also reported drag marks in blood near the remains.
That discovery gave police the physical core of the evidence case. After a search warrant, investigators used a bloodstain reagent inside and outside the home. They reported signs that blood had been cleaned up from parts of the property. Several surveillance cameras mounted on the house appeared to have been removed, according to affidavits described in local reports. A shovel that appeared newly purchased was found leaning against the home, with stickers and packaging still present. Police did not report finding ballistic evidence such as spent shell casings, a detail that left the exact shooting location unclear.
Prosecutors often use evidence-tampering charges when they believe a person handled, moved, cleaned, hid or destroyed material that could affect an investigation. In this case, police pointed to the condition of the body, the blood evidence, the buried phone and keys, the removed cameras and store purchases. The charge does not require prosecutors to prove that a defendant committed the underlying homicide. It requires proof tied to evidence and the defendant’s knowledge that an investigation or official proceeding was pending or likely. That is why the affidavits can describe a homicide but still lead first to concealment charges.
The shopping records gave investigators a second trail away from the home. Police said bank records led them to surveillance video and receipts from Walmart and Home Depot. At Walmart, Daniel Sebastian Ordonez allegedly bought towels, duct tape and a “mummy” style sleeping bag. At Home Depot, police said he bought gloves, a shovel, a sledgehammer, clear acrylic sheets, a tool used to score plastic sheets, CLR cleaner, two bags of concrete mix and a trowel. Investigators said the purchases fit an effort to hide the killing or clean the scene. The affidavits did not say every item was used.
The retail evidence also gives police a timeline they can compare with phone data, device locations, vehicle movement and statements from the suspects. Investigators can use store cameras to show who bought the items, when they were bought and whether another person was present. Bank records can show which account paid for the purchases. Receipts can list exact items. In a case where police have not publicly described the shooting itself, those after-the-fact records may become important because they show conduct that can be placed on a clock and tied to specific locations.
Daniel Sebastian Ordonez has denied involvement in the shooting and told investigators he did not know what happened to his father, according to court records cited in reports. Police have not released a statement from Herrera. Reports based on police documents said the elder Ordonez’s girlfriend told investigators she had not heard from him for several days, and that later texts did not sound like him. The girlfriend also reportedly referenced a message about an argument involving the son and daughter-in-law. Authorities have not said whether those messages were sent before or after the time they believe Daniel Antonio Ordonez was killed.
Daniel Antonio Ordonez was identified by El Paso outlets as a Realtor and businessman originally from El Paso. Public memorial information listed him as 54 and said he died in April 2026. Neighbors near the Vera Cruz Street home told San Antonio reporters the discovery shocked them. One neighbor, Diana Escobedo, said the news was “devastating” and “very heartbreaking.” Those public details place the legal case inside a family setting, but the affidavits released so far do not explain motive. They also do not say whether police believe one person or more than one person was present when the shot was fired.
The next phase is likely to turn on forensic results, electronic records and any grand jury review. Investigators may seek more detail from devices, deleted camera systems, blood pattern evidence, financial records and interviews. Prosecutors also must decide whether the known facts support more charges or whether the evidence-tampering counts remain the only filed cases. Daniel Sebastian Ordonez was reported held on a $150,000 bond and scheduled for a July 8 court appearance. Herrera was also reported held on a $150,000 bond after her arrest.
As of the latest public reports, the homicide ruling stands, the two evidence-tampering cases remain active and no murder charge has been announced. The next known court date for Daniel Sebastian Ordonez is July 8, when the case could move further into the Bexar County court process.
Author note: Last updated May 6, 2026.