SAN ANTONIO – People who live in the North Side neighborhood where a body -- presumed to be that of Jose Luis Menchaca, 35 -- was found in a garage on Monday said they had noticed a strange odor in the area in recent days.
"It was Thursday or Wednesday morning. It smelled like someone was barbecuing. It smelled weird," said Rogelio Herrera, who lives across the street from the home in the 400 block of Hillwood Drive.
As of Tuesday morning, the medical examiner's office had not made a positive identification of the remains yet.
However, San Antonio police have arrested two suspects -- Candie Dominguez, 35, and Daniel Moreno Lopez, 28 -- on a charge of murder.
They said Menchaca was last seen a week ago inside the suspects' home.
"It appeared that the victim and the suspects had an altercation inside that house. There appeared to be foul play," said Officer Misty Floyd, spokeswoman for the San Antonio Police Department.
She said detectives found blood on some of the furniture, and holes in the walls inside the home, along with a pound of methamphetamines.
They continued processing the scene throughout the night Monday and part of the day on Tuesday, looking for evidence.
Floyd was not able to corroborate neighbors' suspicions that a burning body is what they smelled.
However, she confirmed that it appeared the death may have happened at least a few days ago.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, a witness alerted a relative of Menchaca, telling her that he believed Menchaca had been beaten by the couple, using baseball bats.
The affidavit stated that witness was in the home last Tuesday at the time when they argued.
He said at one point, Dominguez instructed him to take her three children, who also were in the home, into another room, the affidavit stated.
The witness said he then heard what sounded like a beating with baseball bats, and Menchaca screaming for help, the affidavit stated.
He told police he later saw a large amount of blood in Dominguez's bedroom, and saw the couple placing Menchaca's beaten body into a Chevrolet Suburban, the affidavit stated.
"Who does that with children around?," wondered Herrera.
He and other neighbors said there is a lot about Dominguez and Lopez that they don't know.
They said the suspects had moved into the neighborhood only a few months ago, and mostly kept to themselves.
Police would not reveal the relationship between the suspects and the apparent victim.
While drugs were found inside the home, Floyd said it was unclear whether that had anything to do with the motive.
