Inset: John Michael De Coste (El Paso Police Department). Background: The El Paso, Texas, home where authorities say De Coste killed his father and concealed the body for several days (Google Maps).
A Texas man has been jailed after police say he fatally beat his father, placed the body in a bag and left the remains hidden inside a garage for several days.
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.
Authorities said the defendant also faces one count of tampering with or fabricating evidence and one count of continuous violence against family. A second suspect, 28-year-old Idalia Nunez De La Torre, was later charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence involving a human corpse.
The case began Tuesday, Aug. 18, when officers were called to a home on Villa Hermosa Drive in northwest El Paso, according to police.
A neighbor contacted 911 after noticing that the garage door had been open for several days and that a strong, foul odor was coming from the property, according to arrest affidavits obtained by El Paso-based Fox affiliate KFOX.
When officers arrived, they found the garage door partially open and detected the odor described in the call, the charging documents state. During a safety sweep of the home, police discovered a body wrapped in plastic inside the garage, according to the affidavits.
Investigators continued searching the residence after the discovery but initially found no one else inside, police said. At some point, they heard a voice coming from within the house and requested a SWAT response, according to authorities.
De La Torre was the first to come out of the home, police said. De Coste later exited as well, and officers took both suspects 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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