The human remains found outside a New Hope home in July have been positively identified as Manuel Vasquez.
Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant told The Dispatch the state Crime Lab in Jackson ruled that the remains found in the yard at 155 Windchase Road on July 21 hold a better than 99 percent chance of being Vasquez’s. The remains were compared to Vasquez’s mother’s DNA, according to Merchant
Officials at the state Crime Lab could not determine from the remains the actual cause of death.
“But the manner of death is certainly homicide,” Merchant said.
Authorities from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the state Crime Lab discovered the remains. Authorities believed at the time that the remains were of Vasquez, who lived at the home and had been reported missing July 14.
Vasquez’s wife, Christina Martinez Vasquez, and mother-in-law, Lydia Martinez, have both been arrested and charged with Vasquez’s murder. They are scheduled to go before a grand jury in November.
Officials from the state Crime lab spent time characterizing and identifying the remains before making a positive identification, Merchant said, which is the reason for the nearly four-month long gap between the discovery of the remains and their identification.
Merchant said he had been worried that the remains were in too bad a condition for positive identification.
“I was very concerned of the possibility of obtaining DNA because of the condition of the remains that we found, so I’m real happy that we got a match,” Merchant said.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
