A man has been arrested in connection to the cold case murder of his 20-year-old girlfriend, whose body was found burned and “extremely decomposed” in a Texas field nearly seven years ago.
Joey Emiliano Tovar-Vargas has been charged with tampering with evidence in the death of Meagan Gonzales, according to authorities.
“What we can prove at this point is that he disposed of her body,” Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said during a Saturday, October 31, news conference.
Tovar-Vargas, 24, was arrested at his San Antonio home Saturday evening, according to Salazar.
Gonzales was last seen alive on November 11, 2019, when she was with Tovar-Vargas inside her truck on November 11, 2019.
Gonzales’ family members reported her missing four days later, after they couldn’t reach her, per the San Antonio Express-News. Her relatives told investigators Tovar-Vargas was her boyfriend.
Within a few weeks, Gonzales’ pickup truck was discovered December 2, 2019, with traces of blood in the truck bed, according to authorities. The blood was ultimately linked to Gonzales’ DNA.
The next day, Gonzales’ burned body was discovered in a field, wrapped in a blanket, in southwest Bexar County, Salazar said.
The blanket had a “distinctive pattern that factors into the case,” Salazar noted.
Tovar-Vargas had been considered a suspect during the early investigation into Gonzales’ death, but the case went cold after Salazar said investigators exhausted initial investigative leads.
In 2025, cold case investigators revisited the case using new technology and uncovered evidence linking Tovar-Vargas to Gonzales’ murder, Salazar said.
Phone records placed Tovar-Vargas near where Gonzales’ personal items were found discarded, as well as where her truck was abandoned, according to authorities.
Investigators also found searches in his cellphone, such as “how long do fingerprints last” and searches on “how to delete social media,” Salazar said.
Photos on Tovar-Vargas’ phone the blanket that had been wrapped around Gonzales’ body, according to Salazar. The images uncovered by investigators showed the blanket inside Tovar-Vargas’ home.
“Although we’re not yet there to the point where we’re able to charge him with murder, we would ask anybody with information to give us a call,” Salazar said of Tovar-Vargas during the news conference.
Tovar-Vargas is accused of asking a witness in the case to help move a body.
Information on whether he had retained legal counsel wasn’t immediately available.
Following Tovar-Vargas’ arrest, Gonzales’ father, Eddie Gonzales, told CBS affiliate KENS-TV that he visited an altar for his daughter.
“I told her, ‘Meagan, it looks like you’re getting your justice that I promised you,'” Eddie said. “Meagan, I hope you get some rest now, as I’m getting it.”
