Adriana Coronado: Body Of Missing Texas Girl Found Days After Her Father Was Murdered
The body of Adriana Coronado, a Texas teenager who went missing around the same time her father was murdered, has been found, MSN is reporting.
On Wednesday, a decomposing body was found in a rural area west of Houston. Through fingerprint analysis, police were able to identify the body as belonging to Coronado, 13, who had been missing since last week. Police later determined that Adriana died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to KHOU (Houston).
ME office reveals cause of death of 14 yo Adriana Coronado, body found in west Houston grass field, was gunshots pic.twitter.com/Cd2d1pZfhX
— Angela Chen (@AngelaChenFOX26) March 19, 2016
Adriana Coronado’s case drew widespread media attention last week when police found the body of her father, Caesar Vladimir Coronado, was found, badly burned, in rural Walker County. His burned truck was found 50 miles away, near the town of Conroe.
As of this writing, police do not know why Mr. Coronado was in Walker, nor do they have a motive for his murder.
Adriana’s mother, Adriana Cavazos, said that her husband was a carpenter, and she was not aware of him having any enemies.
Police do, however, have a clue: the Walker County Sheriff’s Officer has released surveillance camera video footage, taken from Conroe, that they believe may show the person responsible for Mr. Coronado’s death, and possible Adriana’s as well.
In the video, a truck can be seen being driven across a parking lot, and then off-camera. A bright flash of light — believed to be coming from Mr. Coronado’s truck as it was set on fire — then lights up the field of view. A man can be seen running from the source of the light. Then, from another angle, an unidentified, heavy-set man can be seen running down an alley.
The video footage is grainy and doesn’t clearly show the suspect’s face. Police are hoping that someone may be able to recognize the man from his size, shape, and gait.
When Mr. Coronado’s body was found, authorities feared that Adriana, who had last been seen the previous Saturday, might have been with him at the time of his murder, and believed that she was in danger. Now that her body has been found and identified, her family’s worst fears have been realized.
Back in Katy, family, friends, and loved ones of Caesar and Adriana gathered at a home to mourn the loss of the young lady.
Mother of #AdrianaCoronado invited us in, says she hopes police catch killers & “My 2 loves left me alone” #KHOU11 pic.twitter.com/rYSjPHxO9v
— Alice Barr (@AliceBarrKHOU) March 19, 2016
Speaking in Spanish, through sobs, Adriana’s mother, Adriana Cavazos, said that she lost two of the most important people in her life.
“I lost my two loves, the two people I loved most in the world. My little girl and my man. They are gone and they left me alone. I hope the police do their job and catch those evil people. They took away what I loved most in this world.”
Crying & singing coming from vigil for 14-year-old #AdrianaCoronado – found dead a week after her father #KHOU11 pic.twitter.com/b6NJrWOnUM
— Alice Barr (@AliceBarrKHOU) March 19, 2016
A family friend, who was not identified, told KHOU that the family has been left with no alternative but to pray.
“We can just keep praying, asking God to comfort the family. That’s what the family needs now and may He grant peace to Adriana and her father.”
Police are using forensic evidence taken from both Adriana and Caesar to determine if the same gun was used in both murders, according to KTRK (Houston).
Anyone with any information at all about Adriana Coronado’s murder is encouraged to call the Houston Police Department.
[Image via Walker County Sheriff’s Office]
