Leopoldo Morales, aged 46, was found dead on January 22, 2007, in San Antonio, Texas. His body was discovered around 6 a.m., face down in a ditch along the 400 block of S.W. 19th Street. He died from severe head trauma, the result of a brutal attack. The case remained unsolved for years until recent developments led to an arrest.
The investigation revealed that Morales had been involved in a fight at a bar with Martin Fonseca, who was later arrested for the crime.
According to police reports, Fonseca initially got into an altercation with Morales but appeared to reconcile with him shortly afterward. The two left the bar together, but Fonseca took Morales to a park where he attacked him with a beer bottle, striking his face. Fonseca then left the scene but later returned, ultimately beating Morales to death with an unidentified object. In an effort to cover his tracks, Fonseca also reportedly burned Morales' clothes, shoes, and cellphone.
Fonseca was eventually arrested more than six years later, and he faced a capital murder charge due to the severity of the crime and because Morales' vehicle was also stolen and destroyed in an attempt to hide evidence. Fonseca's criminal history, which included prior convictions for assault, highlighted his violent tendencies and made him a suspect when the investigation was reopened by San Antonio police.
