ELGIN, Texas — The Bastrop County Sheriff's Office has charged a man with murder after an Elgin woman was found buried in a backyard earlier this month.
Officials said the investigation began on May 6 when officials responded to a medical emergency on Upper Elgin Road. Relatives of a female who lived at the residence with the suspect found him injured in the driveway.
The sheriff's office said he had unexplained puncture wounds to his body and neck and he was unable to talk. He was then taken to an ambulance to an Austin-area hospital.
Officials added that the family of the female reported they were concerned because she had gone missing. On the next morning, the same family members to went to feed the animals and located an area of disturbed ground in the backyard.
When officials investigated after obtaining a warrant, they discovered the freshly buried body of Catherin Alonzo-Lopez, 28. The body was taken to the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office in Austin to determine the cause of death.
The man was identified as Josue Saravia-Argweta, 34. He was charged on Friday with murder with a bond set at $1 million.
Officials said on Tuesday he remains in the hospital under guard. Both he and the victim are from El Salvador.
The Bastrop County Sheriff's Office released the following statement:
"There have been a few Facebook posts criticizing the Sheriff’s Office for not posting details of a recent Murder investigation. Most of the time the criticism is not founded on sufficient fact, so it is generally ignored. With that said, certain aspects of a criminal investigation are protected from public release to avoid hindering or jeopardizing the integrity of the investigation. If there is no overriding reason, such as public safety concerns, announcement of an investigation is often delayed for various reasons. To prematurely release information for the sake of being transparent, when the information could adversely affect an investigation, is not fair to the victim’s family, nor to the public. The successful conclusion of an investigation is paramount to public safety.
"In the case at hand, the suspect had injuries that initially prevented him from being interviewed, so the investigation was better served to delay the release of as much information as feasible until after the injured person was interviewed. The complaint and search warrant were initially sealed by the court to avoid compromising the investigation."
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