Johnny Joe Avalos

Serial Killer

Johnny Joe Avalos: The San Antonio Serial Killer

Overview

Johnny Joe Avalos, born December 1, 1986, is an American serial killer and sexual predator responsible for the deaths of five females in San Antonio, Texas, between 2012 and 2015. His victims ranged in age from 15 to 46. Avalos targeted women in areas of San Antonio's West Side and South Side, often approaching vulnerable women late at night and isolating them before attacking them. Four of his adult victims had histories of prostitution, while another victim was a 15-year-old girl. Avalos primarily killed by strangulation or asphyxiation. Court records alleged that he used his hands and arms to strangle his victims and, in several killings, also used plastic bags. Sexual assault was an important component of his crimes, and prosecutors later described a pattern in which Avalos stalked women, isolated them, strangled them and sexually violated some of them. DNA evidence eventually became one of the most important tools investigators used to connect the separate deaths to the same offender.

Early Murder and the Death of Vanessa Lopez

The earliest murder eventually attributed to Avalos occurred in October 2012. Vanessa Lopez, 25, was killed in San Antonio and her body was discovered in the San Antonio River system near the Mission Reach area. Prosecutors later placed the killing on October 28, 2012. Her remains had apparently been in the water for several days, and the circumstances surrounding her death were not initially recognized as part of a serial murder investigation. Vanessa's death occurred during a period when several women were being found dead under suspicious circumstances in Bexar County. At the time, authorities did not publicly conclude that those deaths were the work of a serial killer, and the medical finding in Vanessa's case was initially inconclusive. Years later, DNA evidence and the developing investigation of Avalos caused detectives and prosecutors to revisit her death. Avalos ultimately admitted responsibility for killing Vanessa when he entered his guilty pleas in 2019. ...

Confirmed Victims: (5)

Vanessa Lopez Age: (25), Date of Death: 2012-10

Johnny Avalos - Wikipedia