Johnny Avalos

Murders

Avalos' modus operandi consisted of him raping, sometimes robbing, and strangling his victims with his hands and plastic bags. In addition to the five known murders, Avalos claimed that at least 20 intended victims escaped before he could murder them, though no actual evidence has been found to corroborate those claims. In early October 2012, he murdered his first known victim, 25-year-old Vanessa Lopez, by strangling her; her body was found a few days later floating down the San Antonio River.

Lopez was one of six women found dead under suspicious circumstances in Bexar County over a six-month period, but the Police Chief said there was no evidence to support a serial killer. On December 18, 2014, Avalos raped and fatally strangled 15-year-old runaway Natalie Chavez, dumping her naked body under the Vera Cruz Street bridge over Apache Creek. A man called police after discovering her body at about 10:00 a.m. the next morning. On approximately January 10, 2015, he strangled 28-year-old Rosemary Perez to death; her body was found wrapped in a sheet along a sidewalk two days later.

On April 4, 2015, he beat and strangled 46-year-old Genevieve Ramirez, who was found unconscious in a grassy alley and died from her injuries two months later. On April 15, 2015, the decomposing body of 29-year-old Celia Lopez was found with trauma to her head and face; investigators recovered DNA from men's underwear found near her body.

Arrest and prosecution

On April 12, 2015, Avalos was arrested for sexually assaulting a minor in connection to Natalie Chavez's murder. During questioning, he claimed he paid to have sex with Chavez but did not know how old she was, though he later admitted to knowing her real age. After more evidence was gathered, he was charged with the murders of Chavez, Perez, Ramirez, and Celia Lopez; he was not connected to Vanessa Lopez's murder until the next year. On November 29, 2016, he was indicted on capital murder charges.

Due to his intellectual disability, he was deemed not eligible for capital punishment. In 2019, he pleaded guilty to the charges and received two concurrent life sentences without the possibility of parole. As part of his plea agreement, he admitted his guilt in all five murders. He is now imprisoned at the Preston E. Smith Unit in Lamesa, Texas.