His live-in partner faces a murder charge, while her father is accused of helping conceal and discard his remains.
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Roland Matthew Sheppard, a 34-year-old San Angelo resident, was identified as the victim in a homicide that police said unfolded inside the home he shared with his girlfriend and ended with investigators searching a garbage truck, a landfill and concrete-filled containers for his remains.
Police arrested Sheppard’s live-in partner, Audrey Reannan Troncoso, 31, on June 24 and charged her with murder. Authorities allege that she shot and stabbed Sheppard before dismembering his body and attempting to conceal or discard the remains. Her father, Mario Valdes Troncoso Jr., 54, was arrested the next day on an evidence-tampering charge. Police accuse him of assisting with disposal after the killing, not of taking part in Sheppard’s death. Neither defendant had been convicted, and the allegations remained subject to court review.
The case placed Sheppard’s death at the center of what Police Chief Travis Griffith called an unusually difficult investigation for the West Texas city. San Angelo has about 100,000 residents and serves as a regional hub in the Concho Valley. Griffith said officers do not regularly encounter cases involving that degree of violence and concealment. Police also said the killing was the city’s sixth homicide of the year. Officials asked residents to remember Sheppard’s family while investigators, evidence technicians, sanitation workers and medical personnel continued their work.
Authorities released few personal details about Sheppard beyond his age, name and relationship with Troncoso. They did not disclose his occupation, family history or how long the couple had lived together. Police likewise did not describe any previous calls to the Parker Street home or identify a documented history of violence between them. No relative of Sheppard was quoted in the official statements and reports reviewed for this article. The limited public information leaves the known account focused largely on the police investigation rather than on Sheppard’s life before his death.
Investigators believe the killing happened June 23 in the 1400 block of Parker Street. According to police, Troncoso shot Sheppard in the facial area and stabbed him numerous times. An affidavit later described a statement in which she allegedly admitted using a firearm, several knives and a saw. Police have not released an autopsy report or detailed the medical examiner’s conclusions. The methods alleged in court records are included because they explain the murder accusation and the scope of the recovery effort, but many forensic findings remain undisclosed.
The investigation did not begin with a routine emergency call from the home. On the morning of June 24, police received information about a possible homicide that had not previously been reported. The source directed officers to the Parker Street residence and to a dumpster at an apartment complex in the 600 block of Baker Street. Reports based on the arrest affidavit said an anonymous witness claimed to have observed the killing and the efforts to dispose of Sheppard’s body. Authorities have not publicly identified the source or explained the person’s relationship to either member of the couple.
By the time detectives reached the apartment complex, a sanitation crew had already emptied the dumpster. Officers determined which commercial truck collected its contents and located the vehicle as it continued its route. Griffith said investigators found bloody clothing and a large piece of blood-stained carpet in the load. The affidavit also described silver-colored wrapping material and a bag containing partial remains. Tattoos were compared with known photographs of Sheppard, giving police an early means of linking the discovery to the missing man while formal identification procedures continued.
The physical evidence led officers back to Parker Street. After obtaining a search warrant, police detained Troncoso and searched the home, its surrounding property and a red vehicle parked outside. Authorities said they found additional human remains, including remains placed in containers with concrete. The affidavit alleges that Sheppard’s torso had been wrapped and taken to the Baker Street dumpster, while other portions were put into concrete-filled totes. Some containers were reportedly moved into the vehicle, which police seized as part of the investigation.
Police later directed a search at the Republic Services landfill on Old Ballinger Highway. Investigators recovered additional portions of Sheppard’s remains and said they had originated from the same Baker Street dumpster. The search required coordination with the waste company because the relevant material had already entered the municipal collection system. Officials have not announced whether the recovery was complete. They also have not released details about DNA testing or other scientific methods used to confirm the identity of each item found at the landfill, house or vehicle.
During an interview after her detention, Troncoso allegedly confessed to killing Sheppard and described what she had done with his body, police said. An admission described in an affidavit is evidence claimed by investigators, but it is not a conviction. The public record reviewed for this story did not include a recording or transcript of the interview. It also did not establish whether Troncoso challenged the voluntariness or accuracy of the statement, whether she requested an attorney during questioning or whether prosecutors had presented the case to a grand jury.
The arrest of Troncoso’s father added a second branch to the investigation. A separate affidavit alleges that his daughter asked for help because she could not lift the torso by herself. Police claim he helped transport it to the apartment-complex dumpster and assisted with mixing concrete used to conceal other remains. Investigators also alleged that he knew Sheppard had been killed but did not contact authorities. His alleged conduct occurred after the homicide, according to the available documents, and his criminal exposure is separate from the murder charge against his daughter.
Authorities have withheld a suspected motive. Griffith said investigators had information about what may have led to the killing but were still working to verify it. Police did not announce whether the homicide followed an argument, whether the firearm was legally possessed or whether another person was present. They also did not explain why the anonymous witness waited until the following day to make a report. Those gaps remain important because they concern both the events that led to Sheppard’s death and the possibility that others had information before police arrived.
The case now moves from the emergency investigation into the slower court process. Prosecutors will have to decide which evidence to present and whether additional charges are supported. Defense lawyers, once identified, may seek access to the search warrants, recorded interviews, forensic reports and evidence collected from the truck, landfill, house and vehicle. Judges may also be asked to decide whether statements and seized items can be used at trial. No trial date, plea hearing or indictment was identified in the public material reviewed.
Currently, Troncoso remains listed in the Tom Green County jail system after her arrest, with police reporting a $2 million bond on the murder charge. Her father’s bond was reported at $100,000. The San Angelo Police Department said there was no continuing threat to the public and described the investigation as active. Officials said additional details would be released when available, while the unanswered questions about motive, forensic results and the full timeline remained unresolved.
Author note: Last updated July 23, 2026.