Justin Hunt, pictured on the left, and Noel Desselle, appear in mugshots. They have both been arrested in connection with the murder and torture of a man in the San Antonio area.
Two people have been arrested and charged in connection with the murder and torture of a Texas man whose body was injected with bleach before it was dumped behind a vacant apartment complex in the San Antonio metropolitan area last November.
The 31-year-old body of Matthew Pacheco-McKinney was found in unusual circumstances on Dec. 7, 2022, by officers with the Live Oak Police Department. Though he had been shot to death, the victim’s corpse was covered with a blanket and what has been described as curtain cloth or material, according to an arrest warrant obtained by San Antonio-based ABC affiliate KSAT. A rope was tied around his midsection and a black trash bag was covering his right foot.
The month before, police in San Antonio said they discovered blood evidence, black trash bags, and latex gloves from a stolen vehicle at a separate crime scene. Eventually, the two incidents were linked together by law enforcement, the warrant reportedly says.
Citing a confidential informant, police claim Pacheco-McKinney was killed during an argument at a residence on Montgomery Drive in the small town of Live Oak – which is roughly 20 minutes northeast of the Alamo City. That residence allegedly belongs to Justin Hunt, 32, who was charged with one count of murder in a criminal complaint issued Nov. 11, 2022, according to Bexar County Court records reviewed by Law&Crime. He was indicted on that charge on Jan. 26.
According to police, their informant said the victim got into a physical confrontation with two men, one of whom was David Castleberry – a 25-year-old man who was one of two people charged for a seemingly unrelated murder in adjacent Atascosa County earlier this month.
Hunt, the informant said, allegedly made himself part of the fracas by shooting Pacheco-McKinney. After the gunshot, the victim was allegedly “tied up, tortured and injected with bleach before dying.” It is, however, currently unclear, who is alleged to have done exactly what with the helpless man as he was confined, bleeding out, and dying.
On Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, Noel Desselle, 30, was arrested after turning herself in on one count of altering, destroying, and/or concealing a human corpse, Bexar County records reviewed by Law&Crime show. A warrant for that charge was issued earlier this month – based on a criminal complaint filed Nov. 12, 2022. She is currently awaiting indictment. Her bond was set at $150,000 last week.
The case is being investigated by a task force including the SAPD, LOPD, Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office, and Texas Rangers.
According to law enforcement, Desselle and Castleberry used a stolen vehicle and a trash can to transport Pacheco-McKinney from Hunt’s residence and dump it behind the abandoned buildings on O’Connor Road. The deceased man’s body was moved at the direction of Hunt, the aforementioned warrant reportedly says.
The warrant, also obtained by Fox affiliate KABB, elaborates on the car allegedly used to transfer the victim’s body, saying the warrant contains details about blood found on the carpet, a black trash can, and trash bags covered in blood.
Court records show that Hunt is additionally charged with one count of being a felon of possession of a firearm and for a parole violation – he is being held without bond in the Bexar County Jail.
Hunt may also be facing additional charges.
Both defendants recently obtained court-appointed defense attorneys.
[images via Bexar County Jail]