Celia Lopez, a 29-year-old Hispanic woman, was found dead on April 15, 2015, in the 4400 block of South Presa Street in San Antonio, Texas. Her body showed obvious signs of trauma, and investigators believe she had been dead for several days before being discovered. The San Antonio Police Department announced on June 19, 2015, that Johnny Avalos, a 28-year-old man, had been charged with her murder.
Avalos was already in jail on charges of capital murder and sexual assault of a child for allegedly killing and sexually assaulting 15-year-old Natalie Chavez, whose body was found under a bridge at Apache Creek and Vera Cruz Street in December 2014.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office later ruled Chavez's cause of death as asphyxia. During a forensic examination, authorities found foreign DNA on Chavez's body, which was later determined to belong to Avalos. Avalos admitted to having sex with the teen for a predetermined amount of money. Authorities also believe Avalos is tied to a third attack against a woman on the South Side, leaving her with critical injuries, although he has not yet been charged in that case.
Celia Lopez's mother, Maria Avila, who was serving a 15-year sentence for a heroin charge in Gatesville, Texas, learned about her daughter's murder while in prison. Avila expressed her desire for Avalos to receive consecutive life sentences rather than the death penalty, as she felt a lethal injection would give him an easy way out. The Bexar County District Attorney's office announced that they would seek the death penalty for Avalos, considering the evidence and his past criminal history.
Avalos was indicted on capital murder charges by a Bexar County grand jury for the killings of four women, ranging in age from 15 to 46, over a period of four months from 2014 to 2015. In addition to Celia Lopez and Natalie Chavez, Avalos was also charged in the deaths of 45-year-old Genevieve Ramirez and 27-year-old Rosemary Perez. Avalos remained in Bexar County jail on more than $1 million bond as the legal proceedings continued.
