HOUSTON – The U.S. Marshal’s Office and Mexican authorities are joining the search for a suspect tied to the fatal shooting of one woman and the chaining of another woman in a Liberty County home. The suspect is believed to have crossed over the border into Mexico, according to the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.
Jose Marin Soriano, 59, crossed over the border shortly after the incident, according to a reliable source received by investigators.
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These incidents occurred on County Road 3415 at County Road 3425 around 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Deputies said they received a frantic 911 call by a woman who said she was chained to a bed while her friend was killed in a car outside the residence. When deputies arrived at the scene, they found a woman dead inside a burned vehicle across the road from the residence. Deputies said they also found another woman chained at the ankle and a rope tied around her neck inside the house located in the Rancho San Vicente subdivision in north Liberty County.
DETAILS: Woman found dead inside a burning car while another chained inside home
After investigating, deputies said it appears that both women cleaned houses for Soriano, who lives at the residence.
Deputies said Soriano had some revealing photos of the now-deceased woman and he had told the victim that he would delete the photos if she would meet him at his home. It is unknown if Soriano took the photos or if the woman, who is now dead, sent the photos to him at some point.
When the two women arrived at Soriano’s home, deputies said he pulled a gun and sexually assaulted the woman chained to the bed. In an attempt to escape the house, the now-deceased woman got into her vehicle and attempted to back out of the yard, but the car crashed into the woods across the street from Soriano’s home.
For unknown reasons, investigators said the vehicle caught fire and the woman was badly burned. However, investigators said a gunshot wound was found when the woman was later examined. It appears that in Soriano’s haste to stop the woman from leaving in her car, he left his cellphone in the house and it was his cellphone the other victim used to call the sheriff’s department, deputies said.
Deputies said Soriano fled the scene in a gray Ford pickup truck, which was later found. Investigators believe Soriano swapped cars to a 2009 black Honda Accord.
The deceased victim is not being identified by family members, deputies said. Investigators said the other victim was taken to a hospital for observation.
Liberty County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Billy Knox said the arrest process of the investigation has been turned over to the U.S. Marshal’s Office as they continue to work closely with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Investigators and the Mexican authorities.
Soriano’s whereabouts in Mexico are unknown at this time, Knox said.