Human remains have been discovered outside the home of a missing New Hope man.
Lowndes County coroner Greg Merchant said the burned remains of an unidentified person were found earlier this week on the property at 155 Windchase Road — the home of Manuel Vasquez, a 40-year-old missing since June 24.
Investigators with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department now believe the missing person case to be a homicide. Vasquez’s wife and mother-in-law have been taken into custody.
Christina Martinez Vasquez, 37, the wife, and Lydia Martinez, the mother-in-law, are in custody. Christina Vasquez is being held at the LCSD. Martinez is in another location, according to LCSD Chief Deputy Marc Miley.
At press time today investigators were determining what charges the two suspects may face, Miley said.
Merchant told The Dispatch it is unknown if the human remains found at Windchase Road belong to a man or woman. The cause of death is also unknown, but Merchant said evidence suggests the victim died inside the residence. The body appears to have then been burned inside a container on the property. Merchant declined to say what type of container.
It is unclear how long the remains were in the yard or when the person may have died, according to Merchant.
The situation began as a missing person case on July 13, when someone contacted the sheriff’s department to report that Manuel Vasquez was missing. The person told authorities Vasquez had not been seen since June 24.
On Tuesday, while conducting a search warrant at the property, authorities discovered what they believed to be human remains in the home’s yard. The remains were collected and sent to the State Crime Lab in Jackson. By noon Wednesday, state officials had confirmed the remains were human, according to Merchant.
Investigators subsequently found more remains outside the home. Merchant said the remains were found in a wooded area beside the Vasquez’s house and in an area behind the house.
When investigators arrived at the home Wednesday, they discovered an unconscious female inside the home. Authorities have not identified the woman, but Miley confirmed she was one of the two women charged. She was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle.
Agencies stayed on the scene Wednesday night and into the early hours of Thursday morning gathering evidence. The scene has since been cleared.
On Wednesday night, a Dispatch photographer saw a man being led away from the Windchase home in handcuffs. Authorities have declined to say who the man was or whether he’s been formally charged.
A Dispatch reporter knocked on the home’s front door Thursday. No one came to the door.
Vasquez’s neighbors told The Dispatch that Manuel and Christina Vasquez, along with their three children, had lived in the area for about two years. The family seemed nice and kept to themselves, neighbors said.
The family’s children are currently with family members, Miley said.
On Sunday, Christina Vasquez posted this on her Facebook page, alongside a picture of her and her husband: “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.”
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is assisting LCSD in the investigation.
Dispatch reporters Ginger Hervey and William Browning contributed to this report.
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