A Texas man has been charged with the murder of a woman whose body was discovered after she went missing during a walk, with DNA evidence allegedly linking him to the crime.

Stacey Dramiga, a 63-year-old health care professional, wife, and mother, set out for a walk on the morning of September 22, 2024, but did not return home. Tragically, her body was found the following day, leaving her case unsolved for over a year.

In a significant breakthrough, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office revealed on Wednesday that they had pinpointed a suspect in the murder of Dramiga through a DNA match. The suspect, identified as 23-year-old Samuel Aquim Charon, is now held at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.

During a press briefing, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar revisited the details of this year-old investigation. He noted that Dramiga’s family raised the alarm after she failed to return from a walk that typically lasted several hours on Sundays, sparking concern after an unusually prolonged absence.

A concerted search effort by multiple police departments led to the grim discovery of Dramiga’s body on the morning of September 23, 2024. Sheriff Salazar detailed that Dramiga had suffered “blunt, penetrating trauma to the head” and was “sexually assaulted.” Additionally, her body showed signs of being “partially burned.”

Investigators were able to collect a DNA sample from her body as well as a rock that police believe was the alleged murder weapon.

After the discovery of Dramiga’s body, arrests were made, but cases were not. But Salazar said “just a few days ago, on Oct. 13, we got a call that broke this case wide open for us.”

On April 9, Charon was arrested in Bexar County on a charge of criminal mischief. A state law that went into effect in Texas a few years ago allowed authorities to collect DNA from everyone booked into jail. Charon’s DNA was collected and added to CODIS, the nationwide DNA database that is maintained by the FBI.

Salazar said that Charon’s DNA was a possible match to the DNA found in connection with the Dramiga homicide. He stated that his department needed to get another sample from Charon, and they were able to obtain a search warrant to go to Charon’s home and obtain more of his DNA. Charon was also questioned by police, but Salazar said, “That conversation didn’t really yield much at all.”

When the medical examiner confirmed that Charon’s DNA was allegedly a match for the DNA found at the Dramiga crime scene, Salazar was ready to make the arrest. Charon was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with capital murder and tampering with a corpse.

After Charon was escorted back into custody with the press waiting for him outside, Salazar told the gathered reporters, “That man y’all just met out there is a monster.”

Charon is being held on $1.25 million bond. His next court date is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2026.