“I still don’t agree for him to be out there living life when we haven’t found our sister. We don’t have that kind of, you know, closure.”
SAN ANTONIO — The family of Cecilia Huerta Gallegos is speaking out after a judge modified bond conditions for her husband, Reyes Gallegos, who is charged with her 2019 murder.
Cecilia’s sister, Mireya Lopez, said the decision to loosen restrictions on Gallegos’ bond has left the family devastated and fearful.
“It’s mostly about our safety – my older sister’s safety, the kids’ safety – because he does know where she lives,” Lopez said.
Reyes Gallegos was arrested in August 2021, more than two years after Cecilia was last seen alive. Authorities believe he killed his wife in July 2019 at their home on the city’s Northwest Side. Cecilia’s body has never been found.
Lopez said home surveillance footage captured Cecilia and Gallegos entering their bedroom on the day of her disappearance. She never came out.
“He turned the cameras off for a period of time,” Lopez said. “and turned them back on, when he decided to leave to go bury her wherever he took her.”
Investigators say Gallegos was later seen unloading a chainsaw, shovel, trash bags and cleaning supplies at the home.
This week, a judge granted a request to alter Gallegos’ bond conditions. He will remain on GPS monitoring but is no longer confined to house arrest. He is now allowed to leave for work and must follow a court-enforced curfew.
The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that it objected to the bond modification.
Gallegos’ attorney, Louis Martinez, defended the change in a statement, saying, in part: “He has never had a single bond condition violation, and he has faithfully appeared for all of his court dates.”
But Cecilia’s family says the change is unacceptable.
“I still don’t agree for him to be out there living life when we haven’t found our sister,” Lopez said. “We don’t have that kind of closure.”
The family is also frustrated by delays in the start of the murder trial. Gallegos’ attorney attributed the delays to health issues experienced by his former lawyer, adding that they are diligently working to prepare for trial.
The District Attorney’s Office said it is ready to proceed, but as of Saturday, online court records show no new trial date has been set.