Police Search for Suspect Who Set Fire to Headless, Handless Body Found in South Side Dumpster

click to enlarge Police Search for Suspect Who Set Fire to Headless, Handless Body Found in South Side Dumpster
Crime Stoppers
Police have released surveillance photos of a suspect who they say dumped a decapitated, handless body in a south side dumpster before setting it on fire. 

A resident at an apartment complex on the 2300 block of Goliad Road discovered the grisly scene at around midnight on August 21. At first, police say, the witness thought a trash bag was burning inside the dumpster. When they tried to extinguish the fire, they instead found a burned, decapitated body whose hands had been severed. 

The corpse was so badly burned that authorities at first struggled to identify the victim. With the help of a tattoo found on the body, the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office eventually identified him as 43-year-old Javier T. Soto. The ME's office says he died from "homicidal violence including sharp force injury." 

click to enlarge Police Search for Suspect Who Set Fire to Headless, Handless Body Found in South Side Dumpster (2)
Crime Stoppers

On Wednesday, police released some blurry stills from surveillance footage that shows a truck pulling up near the dumpster where Soto's body was found. Police are asking anyone who knows something about the crime to call homicide investigators at 207-7536 or Crime Stoppers at 224-7867. There's a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

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