SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man has been charged after human remains were found in a burn pit behind a home in Atascosa County, according to the sheriff’s office.
Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward said Jeffery Lee Devorah, 43, was charged with the murder of his girlfriend, Tiffany Lynette Garza, 37.
Garza’s mother reported her missing to Atascosa County deputies on April 26, 2019. Garza was from San Antonio but had been living in Atascosa County, Soward said.
In July of that year, investigators heard audio that said Garza was killed in the 600 block of Bocawood Drive in the Shalimar Subdivision, north of Poteet.
Investigators went to the home and found “significant blood evidence” from two people. They also found a burn pit behind that home that contained human bones and bone fragments.
The remains were sent to Texas State University and the University of North Texas for analysis, but researchers were not able to locate DNA. The research did show that the bones were from a woman in Garza’s age range.
Investigators tested the blood found at the scene against Garza’s relatives and found that it matched Garza’s DNA. The other blood sample found at the scene belonged to the suspect, Soward said.
Devorah was first interviewed by police after an unrelated arrest in 2019, but he said he knew nothing about her disappearance. He did say that she was living at the home on Bocawood.
Investigators believe Garza died between March 28 and April 4, 2019, but her cause of death was not released.
Soward said Devorah was arrested last week in San Antonio and booked at the Atascosa County Jail. He is being held on a $500,000 bond.
Read also: