Distinctive blanket helped Texas police identify suspect in 2019 cold case
BEXAR COUNTY, Texas (TCN) — A 24-year-old man has been charged with evidence tampering almost seven years after his girlfriend was found burned and decomposed in a field.
At a press conference on Oct. 31, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar announced the arrest of Joey Emiliano Tovar-Vargas in connection with the death of his girlfriend, 20-year-old Meagan Gonzales. He said, “What we can prove at this point is that he disposed of her body.”
Gonzales was last seen in her truck withTovar-Vargas on Nov. 11, 2019. Her family reported her missing four days later after they were unable to get in contact with her, according to Us Magazine. Her truck was found on Dec. 2, 2019, with blood in the bed, and her body was found the same day. DNA testing revealed the blood in the truck bed belonged to her.
According to the sheriff’s office, Gonzales’ body was decomposed and had been burned.
Us Magazine reports the blanket Gonzales was wrapped in was described as distinctive. Tovar-Vargas was considered a suspect early on, but the case eventually went cold. In 2025, the case was reopened and new technology advanced helped authorities again identify him as a suspect.
Phone records allegedly placed him near where Gonzales’ personal items had been discarded and where her truck was discovered. A search of Tovar-Vargas’ phone allegedly showed the blanket that Gonzales’ remains were wrapped in, according to Us Magazine. In addition, he had allegedly made searches for “how long do fingerprints last” and “how to delete social media.”
According to investigators, witnesses allegedly saw that Tovar-Vargas dumped various items and asked someone to help them move her body on the day Gonzales disappeared, KSAT reports.
Tovar-Vargas was arrested and booked into jail on Oct. 30 on an evidence-tampering charge as well as an unrelated warrant for human smuggling in another Texas county, per KSAT. His criminal history allegedly involves domestic violence cases with three different women.
KSAT reportsGonzales’ father, Eddie Gonzales, said he had never lost hope that his daughter’s alleged killer would be brought to justice. He said of Tovar-Vargas’ arrest, “I feel more … more relaxed because they caught this one person.” KENS reportsGonzales went to the altar he had set up dedicated to his daughter and said, “I told her, ‘Meagan, it looks like you’re getting your justice that I promised you. … Meagan, I hope you get some rest now, as I’m getting it.”
The investigation is active.
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