San Antonio police investigate a man’s claim of self-defense after he choked Rheanna Rae Saldaña Aquillon to death.
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio police say the man who choked a 43-year-old woman to death is claiming he was defending himself against her attacks. Now, the woman’s family is holding a vigil in her honor.
According to a police report, Rheanna Rae Saldaña Aquillon was choked by a man she was in a relationship with on July 8. Police say the man told officers she accused him of cheating and grabbed a gun from a drawer. He says she fired several shots, and he was shot once in the foot.
The police report says the man told officers he began to choke her in order to keep her from continuing to fire at him. He says he was not able to wake her up once she lost consciousness. The report says when officers arrived, the man did have a gunshot wound in his foot and he was limping.
She was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. The Bexar County Medical Examiner says her cause of death was asphyxia by strangulation. It is unclear if the man is facing charges and his identity has not been released.
The woman’s family had held a vigil in her honor Friday at 4:30 p.m.
This is a developing story and further details will be added as they are received.