The case of a missing Lowndes County resident named Manuel Vasquez took an eerie turn last week when investigators with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department discovered human remains in the yard of his home in a wooded, residential neighborhood in New Hope.
The remains — located in two different spots — appear to have been burned in a container at the residence. Lowndes County coroner Greg Merchant said authorities have not yet identified the remains. He added that while the cause of death is not known, the death appears to have occurred inside of Manuel Vasquez’s home.
Vasquez was reported missing by family members on July 13. He has apparently not been seen since June 24.
His wife, Christina Vasquez, and mother-in-law, Lydia Martinez, have been taken into custody in connection to what local investigators now believe to be the homicide of Manuel Vasquez.
So who is Manuel Vasquez?
This is what The Dispatch has learned:
He was 40 years old and those who knew him called him “Manny.”
He was active on Facebook, where he routinely posted Christian-themed messages and songs.
“Christ came to change your life,” he posted on June 7. “Many say Christ accepts you as you are. The truth is, He calls you as you are, but He will always say, ‘Go and sin no more.’ Christ came to call the sinner to repentance.”
The neighborhood
He and his wife, apparently married for two decades, are originally from Texas. They lived in a large brick house at 155 Windchase Drive — near the intersection of Highway 69 and Lake Lowndes Road — with their three children. There’s a pool in the backyard and on Friday, a basketball goal was knocked over in the driveway.
Timothy Thomson, who lives nearby, described the neighborhood as a quiet place where he has never had any reason to feel unsafe — not even now, with investigators from the sheriff’s office and Mississippi Bureau of Investigation having found human remains in the Vasquez’s yard.
“It’s strange, you know, we’re not used to this kind of thing happening here,” Thomson said. “It’s been a very safe, quiet neighborhood.”
A ‘well-liked’ businessman
The family moved here from San Antonio about two years ago. Vasquez was a general manager for Air Masters, a San Antonio-based business that designs, installs and repairs air conditioning and heating units.
Friends and neighbors say Vasquez’s business kept him going back and forth from Columbus to San Antonio.
“He went to both places,” Susan Mackay, who owns Party and Paper in downtown Columbus, said. “He was starting up (a business) here, but he had one in Texas going. That’s why he would go back and forth to San Antonio.”
Mackay and Vasquez worked together on promotional materials for Vasquez’s business in San Antonio last year. Mackay described him as “a true gentleman.”
Vasquez worked closely with Mackay and her employees during the weeks they worked together. Mackay said he was well-liked by the employees and that even when he had a complaint, or wanted something done differently, he stayed friendly and professional.
Her praises were echoed by other local business owners and employees who worked with Vasquez on promotional items for the company.
Mackay last heard from Vasquez a couple of months ago when he emailed her to get some files. Mackay had not heard from him recently.
“He was just a prince of a guy to work with, so I was really disturbed when we heard that that happened,” she said. “I still can’t grasp it … it’s upsetting. It really is.”
Reactions from family members
His wife posted a photograph of them and their children on Facebook one week ago with this message: “This picture holds so many memories, we had a such a great time together as a family. My heart aches not knowing where you are, I do believe you will be home soon and in my arms. We love you and miss you.”
Vasquez’s family members could not be reached for comment.
Vanessa Marie Pena, his sister, responded to his wife’s Facebook comment, though. Shortly after midnight Friday, she wrote:
“I have so many questions for you and your mom,” she wrote. “A last conversation with yall is my prayer tonight.”
She also wrote: “You and your sick mother gave him a sick way of going home … I pray you and your mother suffer for what you’ve done to the kids and our family.”
And: “I bet you thought we wouldn’t find out … but I knew you better than that.”
Investigators said the couple’s children are with relatives.
Mary Sanchez, believed to be Manuel Vasquez’s mother, also posted on his wife’s Facebook comment.
“When you posted this pic you knew my son was not here with us – you are so cruel,” she wrote.
Christina Vasquez and Martinez are expected to be formally charged Monday in connection to the case.
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