The location of the storage unit where police reportedly found the remains of Rogelio Bernal’s mother were found (via YouTube screengrab/KSAT). Inset: Rogelio Bernal (San Antonio Police Dept. via KSAT).
A man in Texas is behind bars after police say he moved his mother’s remains to a storage unit more than a year after keeping her dead body inside the apartment they had shared.
Rogelio Bernal, 53, was listed as the one-time renter of a storage unit that had gone to auction, according to San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT. According to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by the station, the person who took over the unit called the police after finding human remains inside of a trash can stored there.
According to KSAT, Bernal was arrested on an unrelated warrant on Friday, Dec. 22. Court records show that on that day, Bernal was arrested on drug charges. At the time, he reportedly had an active warrant.
After his arrest, Bernal reportedly told police that he identified the remains as those of his mother. He apparently said that he was her caregiver at the apartment where they lived — and where she allegedly died years ago.
KSAT reported that around Oct. 31, 2021, Bernal heard his mother fall while she was taking a shower. He was cooking at the time. Bernal reportedly said he found his mother on the bathroom floor, still breathing — but he did not call police at the time because of his criminal record.
Instead, after his mother died, Bernal allegedly placed her body inside a hall closet, and for more than a year, covered her body in lye and cleaning supplies, according to KSAT. Bernal reportedly told investigators that a gnat problem developed inside the apartment, and he was evicted in Oct. 2022. He subsequently obtained the storage unit and eventually put his mother’s remains there, inside a trash can.
Bernal is charged with altering, destroying, or concealing a human corpse. His bail is reportedly set at $75,000.
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