ATASCOSA COUNTY, Texas — A man has been captured and arrested in connection with the murder of a two women from Leming, Texas, in Atascosa County, officials said.
Rosendo Jesus Montoya is facing capital murder charges in the death of Mary Heinz, 33, and her roommate, Laura West, 43, who were both killed last week.
Sheriff David Soward gave a news conference Wednesday to explain the complex events that led to their deaths and Montoya’s arrest.
The sheriff said it started in the early morning hours of June 29 when a Leming resident arrived to the 100 block of Peach Tree to see a home on fire.
Firefighters found the body of the woman who owned the home, Laura West, who had been shot to death. At the time of the fire, her roommate, Mary Heinz, was missing. Officials say her car and belongings were still at the home.
“For the past several days, my investigative team has spent several hours working day and night to gather information and evidence, and video from surveillance cameras from the neighborhood and around the area,” Sheriff Soward said.
By Monday, investigators developed a suspect, later identified as Montoya, who worked at a fast-food restaurant in Pleasanton. On July 4, deputies observed him move his car close to a dumpster, then place two black plastic bags in the dumpster, the sheriff said.
Deputies pulled him over 45 minutes later and he was taken into custody. They also found “partial human remains” in the black plastic bags.
Sheriff Soward said in the news conference that Montoya confessed to both murders and pointed deputies to where to find Heinz’s remains. They located her remains off the side of the road in Poteet.
The sheriff said she had been deceased for a few days but he was not able to say exactly when she was murdered. She had also been shot.
Sheriff Soward said the suspect had previously been in a dating relationship with Heinz.
“We think he went there to get Mary Heinz. We think the other lady was collateral damage, basically. She lived there and he confronted her or she confronted him. We believe he broke into the house,” the sheriff said. “We believe he started the fire in an attempt to burn the crime scene down, which did not happen.”
He also remarked on how rare this type of crime is in his county.
“In my opinion, this was the making of a monster and hopefully we stopped it from getting any further,” Sheriff Soward said.