HARRIS COUNTY, TX – A Texas father and his teenage son are behind bars after authorities say they killed a 25-year-old man during an argument, then tried to destroy the evidence by stuffing his body in a truck and setting it on fire.
Ernesto Bustamante, 44, faces murder and evidence tampering charges while his son Santiago Bustamante, 17, has been charged with tampering with evidence involving a human corpse. The grim discovery came early Thursday morning when deputies responded to a vehicle fire in a wooded area.
Inside the burning truck, investigators found the body of Juan Francisco Benitez, 25, in the back seat. He had been shot.
According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, the deadly chain of events began at the elder Bustamante’s residence. An argument broke out between the parties, though investigators haven’t disclosed what sparked the confrontation.
Things escalated quickly. Benitez ended up shot, and rather than call for help, prosecutors say Ernesto Bustamante decided to cover his tracks.
The father allegedly loaded Benitez’s body into a vehicle, drove to a secluded wooded area, and torched the truck with the victim still inside. His teenage son allegedly helped with the cover-up, earning his own criminal charges.
Firefighters responding to reports of a vehicle fire around 4 a.m. made the gruesome discovery. The blaze had consumed much of the truck, but Benitez’s remains were still identifiable enough for investigators to piece together what happened.
Both Bustamantes were taken into custody shortly after. The father’s murder charge could put him away for life, while Santiago faces serious felony charges despite his age for his alleged role in disposing of the body.
Investigators are still working to determine the exact nature of the relationship between the suspects and their victim, as well as what set off the fatal argument.
