NOTE: This article contains descriptions of extreme violence.
UPDATE: June 25, 3:04 p.m. Police say that another individual, Mario Valdes Troncoso Jr, the father of the arrested murder suspect, has been arrested and charged with Tampering with or Fabricating Physical Evidence for his involvement in the concealment and disposal of the victim’s remains. Mario Troncoso will been booked into the Tom Green County Jail.
SAN ANGELO, TX – An anonymous tip received by San Angelo Police on the morning of June 24 revealed a brutal homicide, according to Police Chief Travis Griffith.
Audrey Troncoso, 31, was booked into Tom Green County Jail around 6 p.m. that same evening, charged with murder, her bond was set at $2 million. Troncoso has no prior arrests in Tom Green County.
At a press conference on Thursday, June 25, Chief Griffith said “Troncoso confessed to violently murdering the victim, by shooting, stabbing, and ultimately dismembering the victim,” who authorities identified as Roland Matthew Sheppard, 34.
Police believe at this time that on June 23, Troncoso murdered Sheppard at their shared residence in the 1400 block of Parker Street, shooting and stabbing him, before dismembering his body, and attempting to hide the corpse in “multiple locations” around San Angelo, taking active measures to conceal the crime.
Following the tip, “detectives located bloody clothing, that appeared to be fresh, along with a large portion of carpet with similar evidence” Griffith said, and these discoveries led to the search of a dumpster by an apartment complex in the 600 block of Baker Street.
According to police, the dumpster was empty, and its contents were already en route to the San Angelo Landfill.
Subsequently, searches of trash trucks were initiated, and police said that portions of the victim’s remains were recovered at the landfill, ultimately leading to Troncoso’s arrest.
No solid motive, or exact time of the murder has been released thus far.
Sixth Homicide in San Angelo This Year
The homicide marks the sixth in San Angelo since the start of the year, one that was reported through the department’s anonymous Crimestoppers system. The chief noted that it is a crime to disclose any information about the informant, and encouraged residents to continue reporting suspicious activity.
“This is one of the most violent homicides in recent memory that we’ve investigated,” Griffith added.
