Family members found a 21-year-old Texas college student dead in the trunk of her family car Tuesday night, and police arrested her boyfriend — who was at the scene consoling her family — for her murder..
Houston police arrested the woman’s 19-year-old boyfriend, Ariel Cruz, and charged him with murder, KTRK reported. Court documents say he shot her.
Family members said Cruz had been at the family home over the weekend. They said police told them he confessed when he was taken in for questioning.
Cruz is being held on a $600,000 bond.
Houston police said the family reported that the woman dropped her sisters off at school, and they didn’t hear from her again, KHOU said. They reported her missing Tuesday morning and then tracked her phone to a residential street in the Meyerland area Tuesday evening, where they found the locked car, the woman’s phone and other belongings inside.
They called police, who came and looked around then left. The famly began knocking on doors in the neighborhood asking for information and eventually called a locksmith to open the car.
ARRESTED: Booking photo of Ariel Cruz, 19, now charged with murder in the death of his girlfriend found on Tuesday (November 28) evening.
More info at https://t.co/0KMzRILElr#HouNews #OneSafeHouston https://t.co/AN0bgm3W32 pic.twitter.com/mhTeuoScbb
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) November 29, 2023
The locksmith took some time to arrive, police said, so the family broke a window and made entry. When they opened the trunk, they found the woman’s body.
“It’s very devastating for the family. They discovered the body in the trunk. It’s a very devastating thing for them,” HPD Lt. Larry Crowson said.
Houston police investigators are now trying to figure out what happened, something they did not do on the initial call.
The woman’s name has not been released. Family members said she was a Lamar High School graduate attending Houston Community College.
Police provided no further information.
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[Featured image: Ariel Cruz/Houston Police Department]
