Missing Houston woman found dead in car trunk; boyfriend Ariel Cruz charged with murder
HOUSTON - The body of 21-year-old Idania Campos was discovered in the trunk of her car in Meyerland on Tuesday. The woman’s ex-boyfriend has been arrested after confessing to her murder.
Campos' family is demanding justice after making the gruesome discovery Tuesday evening.
Ariel Cruz, 19, is now in custody charged with Campos’ murder.
Investigators say he shot her at a shopping center, dumped her body in the trunk of her car, then ditched her car at a residential neighborhood on the 5400 block of Indigo Street.
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Her family says they didn't hear from Idania and tracked her phone to Meyerland.
Jenna Gonzales, who lives across the street from where her car was found, said she went outside to help the family search for her car. Gonzales said Idania's phone could be seen inside her car, along with her purse.
Gonzales said the family called an expert to unlock the car. But after getting impatient, she said she then helped the family smash the car's window. That's when the family apparently discovered Campos' body in the trunk.
Police say Cruz, who later admitted to killing Campos, was on the scene helping the family search for her body.
Bobbie Munoz, Campos' aunt, says the family is demanding justice.
"We’re very, very upset. We’re hurt and saddened that she was taken from us this way, and by somebody we’ve had in this home," Munoz said.
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Munoz said Cruz was someone the family knew well because the two had dated for a few months, but believes they broke up nearly six months ago.
"He wanted her for him and he wanted to talk to her all night long. She’d tell him I gotta go to school, I gotta go to work, and he was getting obsessed with her; and that’s when it ended," Munoz said.
"It’s despicable. It’s unimaginable that he would do this and hold us, and be with us while we cried, and we suffered while looking for her, knowing where she was the whole time," Munoz continued.
According to court documents, Cruz said he murdered Campos because "she had broken up with him in the past."
Cruz did not appear in probable cause court Wednesday.
Investigators say he had no criminal record. In court, authorities revealed he worked at Bath and Body Works and lived with his mom and stepdad.
Cruz's bond is set at $500,000.
His next court appearance is set for Thursday.