SAN ANTONIO — A woman buried in a pauper's grave two years ago as a Jane Doe now has a name.
The family of Bonnie Marie Flores said it was a long wait for answers about what happened to the missing mother of three.
"Two detectives came and let us know they found her remains, her bones, and how she was murdered," Bonnie's mother Yvonne Flores said.
Flores said one evening in May 2020, her daughter told her she would be out for a few hours with friends, but she never returned.
Flores said she printed flyers and searched around their south side neighborhood in the Five Palms area, but there were no clues to be had.
There was progress in the investigation in November 2020, when Bonnie's remains were found off South New Braunfels Avenue, but her body was so badly decomposed, she was declared a Jane Doe. The family never knew she had been located.
A man called police when he was walking near a nursing home and said he saw hair, bones and a bra on the ground about 40 feet inside a wooded area.
Investigators found more skeletal remains when they examined the area.
Fast forwarding to early 2022, investigators released a sketch by a forensic artist that they hoped would generate some clues.
Flores said she never saw the sketch, but shortly after it was shared with the public, she said San Antonio Police asked her and Bonnie's father for DNA samples.
"Of course it was devastating," Flores said of the day detectives showed up without warning.
"All that time we didn't know they had her," Flores said.
Flores said while there is some comfort knowing her daughter is at rest, there are still unsettling questions.
"I don't know what happened that day or where she was until she was killed," Flores said, adding "I just don't know what she'd been through. There are questions, questions, questions and no answers."
Flores said now that the Medical Examiner has released her daughter's name, she hopes whoever murdered Bonnie might be caught.
"It does give me hope and we grasp at that." Flores said.
Flores said her daughter loved her children and family, but she chose to associate with people who turned out not to be true friends
"I would tell her mija, they're not your friends, really, not family," Flores said.
San Antonio Police said the case remains an active murder investigation.
The direct line to the Homicide division for anyone who may have valuable information is 210-207-7635.