SAN MARCOS — The office of Hays County Criminal District Attorney Kelly Higgins announced May 15 that 428th District Judge Joe Pool sentenced 49-year-old Juan Manuel Yanez to life in prison for murdering 43-year-old Victoria Valadez in her San Marcos apartment in February 2025.
The sentence was the maximum punishment available under the law, according to a news release. Yanez had previously entered a “guilty” plea to the crime at a May 6 hearing and had agreed to let the court determine his punishment. Yanez will not be eligible for parole until he has served at least 30 years in prison.
Evidence presented in the punishment hearing showed that Yanez called 911 and told the operator he had just shot his wife Feb. 7, 2025. Yanez and Valadez were not legally married, but they had been romantically involved for several months leading up to the shooting. San Marcos Police Department officers traced the call to an apartment unit on River Road, where they found a woman with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Investigators found no sign of a struggle and the evidence supported the conclusion that she may have been asleep when she was killed.
Surveillance video from a 7-Eleven near the crime scene — taken approximately 20 minutes before the 911 call — showed Yanez arriving in the victim’s truck, buying four beers and driving toward the River Road apartment. The beers were found at the crime scene: two were opened and all four were still cold to the touch. Yanez’s wallet was also found on the victim’s nightstand. After the 911 call, Yanez disposed of the murder weapon, which was never recovered, and fled to Houston, where he maintained a residence and a separate family. Harris County authorities apprehended Yanez in the vicinity of his Houston residence after a brief manhunt.
Forensic testing confirmed the victim’s blood was on clothing and jewelry collected from Yanez. Testing also found gunshot residue. When officers recovered Yanez’s cellphone, they discovered its SIM card had been physically removed before the phone was collected by police, which investigators said indicated an attempt to inhibit efforts to track Yanez as he fled. Despite extensive forensic examination of digital evidence in the case, investigators were never able to determine a motive for the murder.
Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Jon English and Abigail Whitaker prosecuted the case.
“This sentence recognizes the truth of what happened in that apartment: a life was taken, a family was destroyed and a community was disrupted. Justice required a sentence equal to the gravity of that crime,” English said. “Judge Pool’s sentence delivered that justice for the community and the victim’s loved ones and the exceptional work of the San Marcos Police Department made this outcome possible.”
“The family showed extraordinary courage throughout this case and through the sentencing hearing,” Whitaker said. “Their strength ensured the court saw not only the facts of the murder, but also the true cost to the victim’s family and the community as a whole.”
Multiple officers from SMPD worked the case, with the investigation led by Detective Logan Murphy and Detective Chris Marroquin.
The State’s trial team included members of the district attorney’s Family Justice Unit and members of the 428th District Court prosecution team: Prosecutors English and Whitaker; victim assistance coordinator Annalise Brewer-Hall; digital media evidence legal Assistants Kendall Evans and Mercedes Pena; legal assistant Avery Slocum; HCCDAO investigator Sgt. Erica Saenz and HCCDAO investigator Sgt. David Cabrera.
