Prosecutors said Juan Manuel Yanez tried to avoid tracking after killing Victoria Valadez in her apartment.
SAN MARCOS, Texas — Juan Manuel Yanez drove from San Marcos to Houston after calling 911 about a fatal shooting, prosecutors said, leaving behind Victoria Valadez and beginning a brief manhunt that ended near his other residence.
The route after the killing became a major part of the murder case that ended with a life sentence in Hays County. Prosecutors said Yanez, 49, shot Valadez, 43, in her River Road apartment on Feb. 7, 2025, then took steps to avoid being tracked. He later pleaded guilty to murder, and Hays County District Judge Joe Pool sentenced him May 14 to life in prison. He will not be eligible for parole for at least 30 years.
The flight started after a 911 call in which Yanez told an operator he had just shot his wife. Authorities said Valadez was not his legal wife, though the two had been romantically involved for several months. Yanez did not give an address. Dispatchers traced the call to the San Marcos apartment, and officers found Valadez dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Investigators said they found no signs of a struggle, and the evidence supported the conclusion that she may have been asleep when she was killed. By the time police were working the scene, Yanez had left.
Prosecutors said he did not simply drive away. At some point after the shooting, Yanez disposed of the gun, which was never recovered. When officers later collected his cellphone, they found that the SIM card had been physically removed. Investigators said that appeared to be an effort to stop law enforcement from tracking his movements. The drive to Houston covered more than 150 miles. Authorities said Yanez had a residence there and lived with a separate family. Harris County authorities found him near that home after a brief manhunt. That arrest connected the San Marcos homicide scene with the Houston address prosecutors described in court.
The timeline before the flight was built in part from video. Surveillance footage from a 7-Eleven near the River Road apartment showed Yanez arriving in Valadez’s truck about 20 minutes before the 911 call. He bought four beers and drove back toward the apartment. Officers later found the beers at the crime scene. Two were open, and all four were still cold. Prosecutors said the order of events indicated Yanez had shot Valadez before he went to the store, then returned to call 911. The evidence gave investigators a tight timeline for the moments around the killing even though the murder weapon was gone.
Other physical evidence followed Yanez after he left San Marcos, prosecutors said. Forensic testing confirmed Valadez’s blood on clothing and jewelry collected from him. Testing also found gunshot residue. At the apartment, officers found Yanez’s wallet on Valadez’s nightstand. The state said these details supported the murder charge and helped show what happened before Yanez drove to Houston. Investigators reviewed digital evidence in the case but did not determine a motive. That unanswered question remained in the record after the guilty plea. Prosecutors did not say what led to the shooting or why Valadez was killed as she was in the apartment.
Yanez’s court case reached its final trial-level stage in May 2026. He pleaded guilty on May 6 and agreed that the judge, rather than a jury, would decide punishment. Eight days later, Judge Pool imposed the maximum sentence available under the law. Assistant Criminal District Attorney Jon English said the punishment reflected the gravity of what happened. “This sentence recognizes the truth of what happened in that apartment,” English said. Assistant Criminal District Attorney Abigail Whitaker said Valadez’s family showed courage throughout the case and through the sentencing hearing. Both prosecutors handled the case for the state.
The case drew on work from police, prosecutors, victim assistance staff and evidence specialists. San Marcos police detectives Logan Murphy and Chris Marroquin led the investigation. The Hays County Criminal District Attorney’s Office said multiple officers assisted. The state’s trial team included members of the Family Justice Unit and the 428th District Court prosecution team, along with Victim Assistance Coordinator Annalise Brewer-Hall, digital media evidence legal assistants Kendall Evans and Mercedes Pena, Legal Assistant Avery Slocum and investigators Sgt. Erica Saenz and Sgt. David Cabrera. Prosecutors said that work allowed the case to proceed even without a recovered weapon or an identified motive.
The sentence closed the court’s punishment decision but left a record focused on movement: a traced 911 call, a store stop, a return to the apartment, a drive to Houston and an arrest near another home. For Valadez’s family, prosecutors said, the hearing also showed the cost of the killing. For Yanez, the legal consequence is life in prison with parole consideration barred until he has served decades behind bars.
The next milestones are any prison classification decisions, parole eligibility after 30 years and any post-conviction filings submitted through the courts. Yanez is in the post-sentencing phase of the case.
Author note: Last updated Tuesday, June 16, 2026.