On April 18, 1999, 9-year-old Hispanic girl Mary Bea Perez vanished while attending the Fiesta celebration with her family at Market Square in San Antonio, Texas. The event, a vibrant cultural tradition, turned tragic when Mary disappeared in broad daylight. Her sudden absence triggered a massive community search effort, but it ended in heartbreak. A week later, her body was discovered near Alazan Creek under an overpass at Interstate 35 and Laredo Street.
The young girl had been strangled.
The case remained unsolved for months, despite exhaustive efforts by the San Antonio Police Department. Investigators pursued every lead, but no immediate suspect emerged. The community was left shaken, and Mary's family continued to grieve without answers.
A breakthrough came later that year when a man named Tommy Lynn Sells was arrested in Del Rio, Texas, for the brutal murder of 13-year-old Kaylene Harris and the attempted murder of 10-year-old Krystal Surles. During the investigation, Sells confessed to multiple killings across several states, including the abduction and murder of 9-year-old Hispanic girl Mary Bea Perez. He admitted to taking her from the Fiesta celebration, sexually assaulting her, and then killing her before dumping her body
