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Suspicious death of Hays County man remains unsolved

The burnt human remains of Valentin Castro were found on a property in East Kyle in 2023.

KYLE, Texas — A murder mystery in Hays County remains unsolved.

In 2023, burned human remains were found on a property in Kyle, Texas. An autopsy later revealed they were 20-year-old Valentin Castro. Now, nearly a year to the day after that discovery, KVUE spoke with Castro's mother in Veracruz, Mexico, as she continues to try and piece together what happened to her son.

Blanca Estella Ramirez Lopez is broken. Her sweet boy, her only son, is gone – and she still doesn't know how or why.

"The truth is that they ripped my heart out. And it hurts. It hurts so much. My heart tells me that my son was murdered," Ramirez Lopez said. 

On July 10, 2023, a property owner in East Kyle called deputies after he came across burnt human remains on his land in the area of 500 Running Bull Lane.

"That body was later identified as being Valentin Castro," Det. David Maddocks with the Hays County Sheriff's Office said. 

Maddocks agrees with Ramirez Lopez' gut feeling that her son's death seems suspicious.

"Going back to the scene, there were no signs of blunt force or penetrating trauma. Actually, the medical examiner's report indicates that the cause of death was fire," Maddocks said. 

"The news hit hard. I was in shock. It impacted our entire family," Ramirez Lopez said. 

Castro's naked body was found on private property in an open field, roughly 50 yards behind some trailers where he lived.

"There was no evidence of any type of clothing being worn – no boots, no burnt rubber or anything along those lines," Maddocks said. 

There were also no accelerants, like gas containers or lighter fluid, left behind.

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"So, the absence of that indicates a very strong potential for homicide. I've heard of law enforcement agencies dealing with fire being used as a weapon closer, you know, to the borders, border areas. So that's definitely a possibility that we're looking at," Maddocks said. 

Detectives also recovered a couple of cellphones from the burn pile. With help from the Secret Service, they were able to rebuild the phones and gather additional clues.

"I saw messages where there was some solicitation for him for drugs. And then there was him soliciting drugs from other people. To what extent? We're not too sure," Maddocks said.  

A mother always knows, and Ramirez Lopez's intuition tells her Castro did not take his own life. She said her son had a strong will to live and was making plans for the future, which involved a trip back to Mexico to see her. 

"I want him here with me. If I could have my son with me, I would never let him go. And we would never be part," she said. 

Detectives believe Castro was killed sometime between the evening of Sunday, July 9, 2023, and the following morning. If you have any information on what may have happened to him, call 512-393-7896 or Crime Stoppers at the  512-472-8477 (TIPS).

RELATED: In 1982, the body of a young dancer was found in an Austin field. Her murder remains unsolved.

KVUE Daybreak's Yvonne Nava is shining a spotlight on several Central Texas cold cases as part of a monthly series called KVUE Crime Files.

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