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Apparent Murder Victim Hidden in Hotel Room for 3 Days, Police Say

 

Police in Austin, Texas announced on Wednesday that San Juana Macias, 40, was found dead in a hotel room, but a spokesman initially said it was unknown how long she’d been there. Now officials said she went undiscovered there for three days, according to an affidavit obtained by CBS Austin.

Jamie Wingwood, her on-and-off boyfriend, admitted to killing her, said police.

Both their families reported problems to police, said a spokesman on Wednesday. Macias’ family said she was missing. Wingwood’s relatives said they thought she might have been injured or possibility killed.

On Monday, authorities pursued Wingwood into Louisiana. They believed he was driving a car that might have contained Macias. Officials arrested him, but she wasn’t with him. The suspect made statements on Tuesday that led police to a hotel, said investigators. At first, officers didn’t reveal what he’d told them.

It turns out he allegedly led them to Macias. Police didn’t find her in the hotel room at first, but Wingwood later said that he put her in a bed frame. Housekeepers and police had overlooked her body for a total three days, officials said.

The suspect is charged with aggravated assault and tampering with a corpse. Police said Wednesday that evidence in the case is consistent with murder, but they were still determining the cause and manner of death.

It’s unclear if Wingwood has an attorney of record.

[Image via Austin Police Department]

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