The Royse City Police Department has obtained and served an arrest warrant for Murder on a Houston man identified as Reynaldo Chavez. Mr. Chavez is accused of murdering Sandra Denise Martinez, a 47-year-old, mother of three, who lived in Quinlan, TX. The murder occurred at the American Inn Motel at 300 E. IH30 in Royse City, TX.
The investigation started as a missing person report filed with the Greenville Police Department on April 29, 2022. The Greenville Police Department determined that the last place Ms. Martinez was seen was at the American Inn Motel in Royse City, TX. Video surveillance at the motel showed Ms. Martinez entering the motel with Reynaldo Chavez on the evening of May 2, 2022. In the early morning hours of May 3, 2022, Reynaldo Chavez is seen on video coming out of a room, carrying what appears to be an unconscious female wrapped in a blanket and placing the body in the passenger seat of a car. After the discovery that Ms. Martinez was last seen at the motel in Royse City, the Royse City Police Department and the Texas Rangers began a joint investigation into her disappearance.
On June 25, 2022, Reynaldo Chavez was arrested on unrelated charges by the Rockwall Police Department. Investigators with the Royse City Police Department and the Texas Rangers interviewed Mr. Chavez at the Rockwall County Detention Center. During the interview, Mr. Chavez admitted to physically assaulting Ms. Martinez in the motel room in Royse City on May 2, 2022 and stated she died during the night. Mr. Chavez told investigators that he then drove to the Houston area with Ms. Martinez’ body in his car and placed her body in a wooded area behind a business. The distance between Royse City and Houston is 265 miles. The Houston Police Department was contacted and confirmed they had recovered a body of a deceased female from that location on May 9, 2022 but the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office had not been able to identify who the remains belonged to. The Royse City Police Department provided recent medical records for Ms. Martinez to the Harris County Medical Examiner’s office and they were able to positively identify the body as Sandra Denise Martinez. The Harris County Medical Examiner cited homicidal violence as the cause of death.
Reynaldo Chavez is currently being held on a $1,000,000.00 bond at the Rockwall County Detention Center and charged with Murder along with other charges including Possession of a Controlled Substance, Unlawfully Carrying of a Weapon and Theft of a Firearm. The death of Ms. Sandra Martinez remains under investigation and anyone with information regarding the circumstances of her disappearance and/or death is asked to contact Detective Andrew Mason with the Royse City Police Department at 972-636-9422.
