In San Antonio, Daniel Antonio Ordonez was found behind the home where police said he lived with his son and daughter-in-law.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Daniel Antonio Ordonez, an El Paso real estate worker with property ties in San Antonio, was found shot to death after relatives reported him missing, police said.
The 54-year-old’s death has produced a homicide investigation and two evidence-tampering arrests. His son, Daniel Sebastian Ordonez, 31, and daughter-in-law, Alyssa Sophia Herrera, 36, are accused of concealing or altering evidence after his death. Neither has been publicly charged with murder. Police say the elder Ordonez was found in a trash bag behind a West Side San Antonio home after investigators followed clues from his phone, smartwatch, vehicle and family contacts.
Daniel Antonio Ordonez was originally from El Paso and was described in local reports as a Realtor connected to the DanO Group. Reports also identified him as a businessman. Public memorial information listed his birth date as Jan. 18, 1972, and said he died in April 2026. His work and family contacts made the case a two-city story: loved ones outside San Antonio were trying to reach him, while police in San Antonio were searching properties he owned or used. One of those properties was on West Theo Avenue, where he was reportedly working or preparing a real estate project.
The first signs of trouble did not come from a 911 call about a shooting. They came from silence and odd digital activity. A family member who had access to Daniel Antonio Ordonez’s phone and smartwatch noticed unusual movement or activity and contacted police. Officers went to the Theo Avenue property for a welfare check. They found the victim’s phone and keys buried in fresh soil in a potted plant. A vehicle at the property had what appeared to be a bullet hole in the rear window. The objects found there showed the victim’s devices had been moved or hidden, but officers still had not found him.
During that search, Daniel Sebastian Ordonez and Herrera arrived at the Theo Avenue property, according to police records described in local reporting. The younger Ordonez told officers his father lived with them at a home in the 3100 block of Vera Cruz Street. The couple allowed police to search that address. At the Vera Cruz Street home, officers went to a rear structure and found a large black trash bag lying on clear plastic sheeting. The bag appeared to be leaking blood. Police found Daniel Antonio Ordonez’s body inside. The medical examiner later ruled the death a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the head.
The Vera Cruz Street property became the center of the criminal case. Officers reported drag marks in blood near the body. After obtaining a warrant, investigators used a bloodstain reagent and found signs that blood had been cleaned from inside and outside the home. Several surveillance cameras mounted at the back of the house appeared to have been removed. A newly bought shovel was found leaning against the home with stickers and packaging still attached. Police did not report finding shell casings or similar ballistic evidence at the scene, leaving the shooting location unclear in public records.
The case also includes reported family strain before the discovery. Local reporting based on police documents said the victim’s girlfriend told investigators she had not heard from him for several days. She said texts she received later did not sound like they were written by him. Reports said she told police the last message she believed came from him referred to an argument with his son and daughter-in-law. Police also said Daniel Sebastian Ordonez told investigators he last saw his father on Easter night. Authorities have not publicly released a complete timeline of the victim’s final known movements.
Investigators then looked beyond the home to bank records and store cameras. Police said Daniel Sebastian Ordonez was recorded buying supplies at Walmart and Home Depot. The Walmart purchase allegedly included towels, duct tape and what court records called a “mummy” style sleeping bag. The Home Depot purchase allegedly included gloves, a shovel, a sledgehammer, clear acrylic sheets, a scoring tool for plastic sheets, CLR cleaner, two bags of concrete mix and a trowel. Police said those purchases were part of an effort to conceal the killing or destroy evidence. The body, however, was found in a trash bag, not buried in concrete.
Those purchases became one of the clearest public links between Daniel Sebastian Ordonez and the alleged cover-up. Store receipts can show a minute-by-minute path, while surveillance video can show who walked through the aisles and bought the items. The affidavits summarized in local reports say investigators checked bank records first, then used that information to find the retail footage. The shopping trail gave police a record outside the home, separate from statements by family members. It also gave prosecutors a list of physical objects that could be compared with items found at the Vera Cruz Street property.
Herrera’s later arrest widened the case from one son to a married couple accused of tampering. Police said she was booked on a third-degree felony charge of tampering with physical evidence. Reports on the affidavit said investigators believed she and her husband concealed, altered or destroyed evidence of the murder. Herrera lived at the Vera Cruz Street home with the victim and her husband, according to police records. Authorities have not said she made any of the store purchases. They also have not released a public statement from her explaining what she knew or did before officers found the body.
The current charges show the limits of what police have publicly alleged. A homicide ruling means a medical examiner found Daniel Antonio Ordonez died by another person’s act. The tampering charges mean police believe evidence was hidden, changed, cleaned or destroyed. The public record does not yet say who pulled the trigger. It also does not explain why the elder Ordonez was shot, whether the bullet hole in the vehicle is tied to the fatal gunshot or whether the body was moved from one property to another. Those unanswered points remain at the center of the investigation.
Neighbors on Vera Cruz Street told local reporters the discovery was startling. Diana Escobedo, who lived across the street, said it was “devastating” and “very heartbreaking.” A flower arrangement was later seen at the property, according to local coverage. The scene combined ordinary neighborhood details with the evidence listed in court records: a rear structure, missing cameras, a new shovel, clear plastic sheeting, blood cleanup and a trash bag. For relatives in El Paso and San Antonio, the case shifted quickly from a missing-person concern to a homicide with no public murder charge.
Daniel Sebastian Ordonez was reported held on a $150,000 bond and scheduled for a July 8 court appearance. Herrera also was reported held on a $150,000 bond after her arrest. Prosecutors may add, reduce or change charges as police complete forensic work and review digital records. For now, the official case remains divided between a confirmed homicide and two tampering prosecutions tied to what investigators say happened after Daniel Antonio Ordonez was killed.
Author note: Last updated May 6, 2026.