Inset: John Michael De Coste (El Paso Police Department). Background: The house where De Coste allegedly killed his father and kept his body hidden for days in El Paso, Texas (Google Maps).
In a chilling turn of events from Texas, authorities have apprehended a man accused of a gruesome crime. He is alleged to have bludgeoned his father to death, then concealed the body in a bag, leaving it to decompose over several days in the family garage.
John Michael De Coste, 29, stands accused of one count of murder over the death of 59-year-old David Edward De Coste, according to a press release issued by the El Paso Police Department.
Law enforcement has revealed that the suspect faces multiple charges, including murder, tampering with evidence, and ongoing domestic violence. Additionally, a woman named Idalia Nunez De La Torre, aged 28, has been implicated for her alleged role in tampering with or fabricating evidence related to a human corpse.
The case came to light on Tuesday, August 18, when police were called to investigate a home on Villa Hermosa Drive, situated in northwest El Paso.
The sequence of events unfolded when a concerned neighbor dialed 911. The reason? An unsettling odor permeating the air, seemingly emanating from a garage left open for days. This crucial tip-off, detailed in arrest affidavits and reported by the local Fox affiliate KFOX, paved the way for the subsequent investigation.
Responding officers found the garage door ajar and noted the smell, according to the charging document. Next, officers performed a safety sweep of the residence and found a body wrapped in plastic in the garage, according to the affidavits.
After the grim discovery, the search of the residence continued for some time, but initially no one else could be found, police said. Eventually, however, investigators heard a voice inside the house and called a SWAT team to the scene, according to law enforcement.
First, De La Torre exited the residence, police said. Later, De Coste walked outside and officers took both into custody.
During a custodial interview, the woman allegedly told investigators she began living with De Coste and the victim on Aug. 2.
During her time living there, she and the victim kissed on multiple occasions while the other defendant was not at home, De La Torre allegedly told police. On one such occasion, the younger De Coste caught the two in the act, according to the affidavits.
After De Coste caught his father with the woman, the men argued, which turned into a physical altercation, police said.
De La Torre said she did not witness the violence or take any part in harming the victim, according to the affidavits.
To hear the male defendant tell it, the confrontation occurred sometime between Aug. 4 and Aug. 7. De Coste said he was showering when he walked into his bedroom and saw his father on top of the woman, kissing her, according to the charging document.
De Coste added that he became extremely upset after seeing his father kissing the woman — but could not remember exactly how the attack on the victim began.
At the time, the victim was heavily intoxicated, the male defendant said, according to the affidavit. De Coste added that, upon being interrupted, his father went to his own bedroom, where he attempted to retrieve a gun, police said. The son allegedly stopped the victim from getting the gun by pushing him down — causing his father to fall and hit his head, according to the charging document.
While his father was down, De Coste allegedly admitted to repeatedly slapping and kicking him, according to law enforcement. All the while, the victim was fighting back, the defendant allegedly said.
But eventually the older man gave up the fight, grabbed a pillow, and lay down on the floor, the younger De Coste told investigators.
The son said he checked on his father periodically overnight and heard the victim snoring but discovered the victim was lifeless the next morning, according to the charging document.
During his interview, De Coste allegedly told police he was afraid to call 911 because he had an active warrant out for his arrest.
Investigators believe the victim was in the defendant’s bedroom some three or four days before he was moved to the garage. After that, the defendant ordered a body bag from Amazon, police said.
Once the macabre online purchase arrived, De Coste asked De La Torre to help get the corpse in the bag and transfer the remains into the garage, both defendants allegedly told law enforcement.
The woman also said she used cleaning products on the areas of the house that the older man’s corpse had touched, police said.
An autopsy determined the victim died from blunt-force trauma and a skull fracture. Police believe the defendant killed his father by pushing him and striking him with his hands and feet.
The defendants were subsequently booked in the El Paso County Detention Facility. De Coste is being detained with no bond. De La Torre is being detained on $150,000 bond.
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