Police say Daniel Antonio Ordonez was found after relatives questioned strange activity on his phone and smartwatch.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Relatives searching for Daniel Antonio Ordonez helped lead police to the body of the 54-year-old El Paso Realtor, who was found shot to death behind a West Side home, authorities said.
The discovery has left two people charged, neighbors stunned and a homicide case without a publicly named murder suspect. Daniel Sebastian Ordonez, 31, the victim’s son, and Alyssa Sophia Herrera, 36, the son’s wife, are accused of tampering with physical evidence after police found the elder Ordonez’s remains in a black trash bag. Investigators say the body was found behind the home where the three had lived on Vera Cruz Street.
Before the police search, the concern came from outside San Antonio. A relative who did not live in the city reported Daniel Antonio Ordonez missing after noticing strange activity on his cellphone and smartwatch, according to police records. The devices pointed officers to a property he owned on West Theo Avenue. That first stop produced signs that something was wrong but did not immediately explain where he was. Officers found his phone and keys buried in soil in a plant pot. One of his vehicles was on the property, and police reported what appeared to be a bullet hole in the rear window on the driver’s side.
The missing man was known in El Paso as a real estate professional and businessman. Media reports identified him as a Realtor connected to the DanO Group and originally from El Paso. Public memorial information listed his birth date as Jan. 18, 1972, and said he died in April 2026. Those details gave the case a reach beyond the San Antonio street where police found his remains. In El Paso, he was known through his work. In San Antonio, investigators focused on two properties, family contact and the movement of the victim’s devices after loved ones lost touch with him.
Police later went to the Vera Cruz Street home after Daniel Sebastian Ordonez and Herrera showed up during the welfare check at the Theo Avenue property, according to affidavits described in local reports. The younger Ordonez told officers his father lived with him and Herrera, and the couple allowed police to search their home. Behind the home, officers entered a rear structure and found a large black trash bag on clear plastic sheeting. The bag appeared to be leaking blood. When officers checked inside, they found Daniel Antonio Ordonez. The medical examiner later said he died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Neighbors later described the scene as hard to understand. Diana Escobedo, who lived across the street, told local reporters the discovery was “devastating” and said neighbors did not see it coming. Another part of the neighborhood response centered on simple questions that police had not answered publicly. Authorities had not said where the shooting happened, whether anyone heard a gunshot or how long the body had been behind the home before officers arrived. The quiet setting made the details in the affidavits stand out: a bag, blood, a rear structure and signs that something had been dragged.
Investigators said the Vera Cruz Street property showed more than the location of the remains. Officers reported drag marks in blood near the body. After obtaining a search warrant, crime scene investigators used a bloodstain reagent and found signs that blood had been cleaned inside and outside the home. Several surveillance cameras mounted on the back of the house appeared to have been removed, according to reports on the affidavits. A newly purchased shovel was found leaning against the house with packaging still attached. Police did not find spent shell casings or other ballistic evidence at the home, according to local reporting.
The family’s communication with the victim also became part of the timeline. Local reports said the elder Ordonez’s girlfriend told investigators she had not heard from him for several days. She also said a later text message did not sound as if Daniel Antonio Ordonez had written it. Police reports described an earlier message in which the victim appeared to mention an argument with his son and daughter-in-law. Daniel Sebastian Ordonez told investigators he last saw his father on Easter night, according to KSAT’s account of the police report. Authorities have not publicly said whether that account matches phone, watch or store data.
Police said they later tied Daniel Sebastian Ordonez to a series of purchases that appeared to fit a concealment effort. Investigators checked bank records, then store surveillance and receipts. They said he bought towels, duct tape and a “mummy” style sleeping bag at Walmart. At Home Depot, he allegedly bought gloves, a shovel, a sledgehammer, clear acrylic sheets, a plastic scoring tool, CLR cleaner, two bags of concrete mix and a trowel. The items were bought after the killing, according to police’s theory, and before officers found the body. Authorities said the body was ultimately left in a trash bag rather than encased or buried.
The charges filed so far do not accuse either Daniel Sebastian Ordonez or Herrera of firing the shot that killed Daniel Antonio Ordonez. The son is charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and failing to report human remains. Herrera is charged with tampering with physical evidence. Investigators said both are tied to an effort to conceal or destroy evidence of the homicide. The younger Ordonez has denied involvement in the shooting and said he did not know what happened to his father, according to the affidavit summarized by Law&Crime and local outlets.
That distinction matters for what comes next. A homicide ruling by the medical examiner states how Daniel Antonio Ordonez died, but it does not by itself name the person who killed him. Prosecutors must decide whether the current evidence supports more charges or whether the case remains focused on what happened after the death. The affidavits point to device locations, blood cleanup, removed cameras, store purchases and the condition of the body. They leave public questions about motive, the exact time of the shooting and who had access to the victim during the key hours.
Currently, Daniel Sebastian Ordonez is reported held on a $150,000 bond and is scheduled for a July 8 court appearance. Herrera also was reported held on a $150,000 bond after her arrest. The case remains in the investigative stage, with the homicide ruling complete but no publicly announced murder suspect. For the family, the search that began with strange device activity has become a criminal case focused on concealment, evidence and a father’s final hours.
Author note: Last updated May 6, 2026.