Jesus Varel, 48, is accused of hiding his girlfriend’s body and assaulting a family member to cover it up.
HOUSTON — A 48-year-old Houston man is facing multiple charges after he allegedly attempted to hide the body of his dead girlfriend and force a family member to help cover it up, according to court documents.
Jesus Varela is currently being held in the Harris County Jail on three charges: tampering with evidence, a human corpse; assault of a family member; and unlawful restraint.
According to the motion for sufficient bail, the incident occurred on or about December 1, and court documents show that Varela was arrested on the afternoon of Saturday, December 6.
Court records state Varela “killed his girlfriend and tried forcing complainant to help hide her corpse along with other evidence. The defendant also physically assaulted the complainant.”
However, as of right now, Varela does not face any murder charges, despite court documents describing that the facts of the case involve a “murder investigation.”
The charging documents clarify that the “complainant” is one of Varela’s family members.
Varela is accused of physically assaulting that family member when he allegedly tried to get them to help cover up the apparent homicide. The charging paperwork states Varela struck the family member with his hand. He is additionally accused of unlawfully restraining that family member, “by force and by intimidation.”
As of Sunday evening, Varela had not appeared in probable cause court, where a judge is expected to decide on his bail amount. Varela is scheduled to be in court on Tuesday.
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