SAN ANTONIO – In early January 2019, the community was in shock after a father called San Antonio police to tell them someone had stolen his car with his 8-month-old baby inside.
As first responders and concerned residents searched for baby King Jay Davila around the city, investigators discovered that the kidnapping call was a ploy to cover up “foul play.”
Christopher Davila, the baby’s father, eventually admitted to the scheme, leading police to the baby’s body, who was buried in a backpack in a Northeast Side neighborhood. He was arrested in January 2019, but will stand trial next month after his attorney rejected a 50-year plea deal in the case last week.
King Jay’s death was just one of 105 homicides reported in San Antonio city limits in 2019, according to an analysis of police records obtained by KSAT under public information law.
That figure represents the third consecutive year homicide numbers have gone down. Accidental deaths, officer-involved shootings and killings that were deemed justified due to self-defense are not included in this list.
The majority of victims — almost three out of four — were killed by gunfire, while others were fatally stabbed, beaten or struck by a car.
The first fatal shooting came on New Years Day, when store clerk Timothy Collins was shot during a robbery. The last slaying of the year was called in on Dec. 30, 2019, when a promising college football player, Aydin Hoffman, was found fatally shot on the Northeast Side.
Both remain unsolved.
The data analyzed by KSAT only comprise of San Antonio Police Department records.
SAPD Sgt. Michelle Ramos talked about the work homicide detectives do and about police’s efforts targeting repeat offenders and addressing domestic violence.
Find more data journalism from KSAT here.
How does it compare?
In 2019, San Antonio police reported the lowest annual homicide tally since 2015, records show.
After homicides spiked in 2016 — when 151 killings were reported — San Antonio police have seen three consecutive years of decline.
That spike was consistent across the country, mirroring a nationwide rise in the homicide rate.
In In 2017, that number dropped to 126.
Last year, 105 homicides were reported. In 2015, only 94 homicides were reported in San Antonio.
Because there are so many factors, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why the numbers fluctuate, but San Antonio Police Department Sgt. Michelle Ramos said the department has been focused on proactive policing.
“We’ve done work with the violent crime taskforce concentrating on repeat offenders,” Ramos said. “A lot of times, these individuals are the ones that continue to create problems.”
Family incidents
At least six incidents involved two or more victims.
On April 9, 2019, a 14-year-old boy fatally shot 37-year-old Janette Quiroz and her pregnant daughter, 18-year-old Bernadett Quiroz. The baby, Tabatha Quiroz, died from injuries sustained in the shooting three days later.
On Aug. 5, 2019, Ruben Gonzales turned the gun on himself after fatally shooting his mother, grandmother and uncle in the 7500 block of Dream Valley Street.
Crimes like that require larger police responses, Ramos said.
“We have a number of detectives go out to the scene,” she said. “It takes a great amount of working together.”
Domestic violence is another prevalent issue in homicide investigations.
On Christmas Day, William Bayles killed his pregnant ex-girlfriend, 24-year-old Gabriella Rodriguez before taking his own life. Their two young children witnessed the fatal shooting.
Earlier that year, on April 1, Brian Ramos gunned down his wife, Josephine Ramos. The couple, married for 17 years, were in the midst of a divorce.
In an effort to prevent domestic violence, the San Antonio Police Department added 10 new officers to the Crisis Response Team, the unit responsible for following up with abuse survivors and connecting them to resources.
The department collaborates with other local agencies, too, like Metro Health, Ramos said.
Unsolved homicides
San Antonio police’s clearance rate on homicide investigations is roughly 70%, Ramos said. That’s higher than the national rate, 62.3%, reported in the FBI’s 2018 Uniform Crime Report.
“It speaks volumes about the work our detectives are doing,” Ramos said. “We have to work hand in hand with (the community) to get the info to solve these cases.”
But that does not mean the work is over. More than 30 of the cases reported in 2019 remain unsolved, she said. Data provided by the city to KSAT under open records law did not list a suspect in 41 cases reported in 2019. SAPD has not explained the discrepancy.
For example, investigators are still trying to determine who fatally shot Annette Nicole Juarez, 37, and left her to die in the passenger seat of a silver car on March 3, 2019.
San Antonio police also have yet to arrest someone in connection with the fatal shooting of Savawn Kyle. Kyle, who was driving his Porsche with his 8-year-old son at The Rim on Dec. 9, 2019, was targeted, police believe.
“Many times, we’re waiting for information or physical evidence to return from the crime lab,” Ramos said. “We work these cases until all leads are exhausted.”
The family of John Ryan Burton, a Coast Guard veteran found fatally shot outside his apartment, still doesn’t know who killed him.
“The hardest part is that he didn’t deserve this. He did nothing wrong to deserve this. And he’s gone forever,” his sister, Meagan Burton, previously told KSAT.
Detectives work hard to try and find justice for every victim, Ramos said.
“They’re very motivated,” Ramos said. “When you’re assigned to homicide, you’re on call, staying after hours and coming in on weekends.”
Got a tip?
Ramos asked anyone with information on any of the unsolved crimes.
"Even if they believe (the tip) might not be anything, it could lead a detective in the right direction,” Ramos said.
Tips can be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers or by calling 210-207-7635.