Texas man looking to sell his truck was stabbed to death

HOUSTON, Texas – A body found buried near a Harris County home last Saturday has been identified by investigators as a missing Houston-area man who set out to sell his truck, reports CBS affiliate KHOU.

KHOU reported that the body of Jesus Leal Valdez, 41, of Pasadena, Texas, was found buried two feet under a chicken coop. Investigators searched the nearby home this past weekend after receiving an anonymous call to 911.

Leal had been missing since Dec. 31, when family members say he was on his way to show a woman the truck he was selling, according to investigators.

Officials say that Leal was beaten, stabbed to death and robbed of $300 in a plot involving as many as four people.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office used special equipment and called Texas Equusearch to aid in finding the remains. Investigators also found several vehicle parts near the body.

KHOU says surveillance cameras captured one of the suspects, 27-year-old Veronica Muniz, using Leal’s debit card at several locations after his disappearance.

Police confirmed Muniz was arrested Wednesday at an apartment complex in Texas City after a standoff with SWAT members. Another suspect, identified as 29-year-old Amado Osuna by the Galveston Daily News, reportedly hanged himself inside a closet in the apartment.

KHOU reported that Muniz was charged with capital murder, and that, appearing before a judge on Thursday, she admitted calling Valdez from her cell phone and asking to meet regarding the sale of the truck, though she never intended to buy it. After Valdez was killed, his vehicle was cut into pieces with a blow torch.

Meanwhile, authorities say that two other suspects - Marcelino Osuna, 25, and Richard Osuna, 30 - are still at large.