Suspect Charged in 1992 Murder at 6705 Fairway

September 26, 2008 - Charges have been filed against a suspect in the murder of a child at 6705 Fairway on September 30, 1992.

The suspect, Obel Cruz-Garcia (H/m, DOB: 7-8-67) is charged with capital murder in the 262nd State District Court. He is accused in the killing of six-year-old Angelo Garcia Jr.

Houston Police Homicide Division Sergeant E.S. Mehl reported:

Young Angelo Garcia Jr. was asleep in his apartment along with his mother and stepfather when at least two masked men forced their way into the apartment. The child’s stepfather got up to investigate the noise and was forced, at gunpoint, back into the bedroom by the suspects. He was beaten with the pistol then bound and gagged as the child’s mother was also bound and blindfolded as she was sexually assaulted by one of the suspects.

After she freed herself, she and her husband began looking for young Angelo inside the apartment. They ran outside calling his name when they did not find him inside and also called 9-1-1. Young Angelo was not located in the initial search, but on November 5, 1992, the skeletal remains of a young boy were found in Baytown. Those remains were eventually identified as Angelo Garcia Jr. Investigators identified Cruz-Garcia as a possible suspect at the time but could not locate him and felt he fled the country.

In 2007, biological evidence collected at the scene on the original date of the incident was sent to a private laboratory for analysis. A male’s DNA profile was developed and with the assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it was discovered Cruz-Garcia was in prison in Puerto Rico. A DNA sample was collected from Cruz-Garcia and was found to match the evidence from the scene.

Cruz-Garcia is currently awaiting extradition to Houston, Texas.

GO/KBG
Inc #105758592

For additional information, please contact the HPD Public Affairs Division at 713-308-3200.