(KRON) — A missing person case quickly moved into a homicide investigation after the family of the victim suspected foul play, the San Jose Police Department said Friday.
Authorities opened the investigation on June 22 after responding to a report of a missing unhoused man near Coyote Creek in the area of Wool Creek Drive. Family and friends told officers the missing man was last seen three days earlier and that they suspected foul play in his disappearance “because his bicycle was found abandoned near a creek trail, a short distance from blood stains and spent bullet casings,” SJPD said.
On June 25, the Santa Clara County Crime Lab confirmed the blood found at the scene matched the missing man. With heightened suspicion that foul play was involved, homicide detectives again canvassed the creek area and interviewed witnesses.
Police learned of two vehicles that were near the location where the missing man was last seen alive, according to SJPD. The investigation then led to three San Jose residents, identified as Juan Flores-Gonzalez, 44, Miguel Cortez, 41, and Julio Espinoza-Chavez, 43, being named as primary suspects in the man’s disappearance.
“Detectives later determined, based on circumstantial evidence, that the missing person had been murdered and was likely buried in the Saratoga Hills area, near Highway 9,” San Jose PD said.
On Tuesday, the three men were arrested and booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for suspicion of murder.
Cadaver dogs from Santa Clara County Search and Rescue on Thursday located the remains of a man buried in the Saratoga Hills area near Highway 9, SJPD said. The identity of those remains is pending confirmation from the Santa Clara County Office of the Medical Examiner.
The missing person case turned homicide investigation was “as complex as it was compelling,” San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph said in a statement Friday. “Our detectives handled it with care, compassion, and relentless determination.”
