According to the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, two more arrests have been made in connection with the murder of a 41-year-old man whose body was found in a barrel buried near Edinburg.
Monica Victoria Gomez, 41, was arraigned on Thursday on charges of murder and tampering with evidence. Jennifer Jane Snider, 39, was arraigned on charges of tampering with evidence, according to a news release.
Gomez and Snider were already in custody at the Hidalgo County Jail at the time of their arrest on Wednesday. They were charged with human smuggling and possession and possession of a controlled substance, respectively, the press release said.
Both women were charged for their alleged roles in the death of Juan Carlos Hernandez De Leon, whose body was found on May 15 in a barrel buried in a home in rural Edinburg.
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Jesus Grijalva, Samuel Uvalle Sr. and Alejandro Cantu were previously arrested in connection with the death.
According to an affidavit provided to Channel 5 News, De Leon was attacked with a hammer by three people – Grijalva, Uvalle Sr. and Roberto Salas – at Grijalva’s San Juan residence on May 7.
De Leon died as a result of the attack and his body was placed in the barrel that was found buried on the property in Edinburgh, the affidavit said.
Cantu was seen picking up the backhoe used to bury the barrel containing De Leon’s body, the sheriff’s office said in an earlier news release.
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On Friday, the sheriff’s office said Gomez was involved in the fatal attack and that she and Snider helped dispose of De Leon’s cellphone.
Bail for Gomez was set at $4 million and for Snider at $1 million.
Investigators are still searching for Salas.
Anyone with information related to the investigation is asked to contact the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office at 956-383-8114.
