Dead man identified near Roma

August 13, 2008 - 7:06PM
Sean Gaffney

ROMA - Police identified a Mexican national found dead last week with a knife lodged inside his body, authorities said Wednesday.

The man U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered was Felipe Neri Alonso-Villalobos, a 35-year-old man who lived with family in Escobares and Roma, Starr County Sheriff's Office investigator Lt. Larry Fuentes said. He was found Friday night west of Roma near the Rio Grande and had suffered multiple gunshot and stab wounds.

"Now that we've identified him, we gotta try to determine a motive," Fuentes said.

Police have released few other details in the homicide case.

Investigators suspect Alonso-Villalobos was dead for several days when his badly decomposed body was discovered about 7 p.m. Friday.

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Sean Gaffney covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.