Suspect arrested in 2005 Texas cold case murder of pregnant woman- but did he act alone?
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On the evening of July 19, 2005, the body of a visibly pregnant woman was discovered by mourners at the Cristo Rey Cemetery in LaSalle County, Texas.
She was soon identified as 26-year-old Valerie Laguna, who was eight or nine months pregnant.
The manner of death was ruled as a homicide, the cause as blunt force trauma to the head.
The Texas Department of public safety later wrote that the victim had been assaulted, beaten, and strangled.
The last known sighting of Valerie was at a nearby private residence in Cotulla on July 19, the same day her body was found.
On July 21, 2005, the Plainview Herald reported that authorities believed that "more than one person probably killed the pregnant woman."
It is unclear if this information still stands today.
The paper also reported at the time, that police charged the victim's partner, Larry Laguna, and her father, Albert Benavidez, with assault on a Police officer that night, after the officer was struck during a fight between the two men.
The reason for the fight was not reported.
Her family never stopped hoping Valerie's killer would be identified and brought to Justice, and investigators said they never stopped looking.
La Salle County Sheriff, Miguel Rodriguez, stated the department had been working on the case since he took office in 2013, and that they had contacted the FBI, but found no major leads to explore.
Valeries body was exhumed in 2014 as part of the investigation, and DNA was taken from her baby with the hope the father could be identified, but there was no DNA match in the system.
Valerie had three daughters, and was almost at full term with her first son when she was cruelly slain.
Her oldest daughter, Destiny, was 10 at the time of the murder. She recalled the day she found out and had to explain to her younger siblings that their mother wasn't coming back.
In 2020, the victim's daughter, Destiny Valenzuela, then 25, told Fox Antionio: "The fact that it's been fifteen years is crazy. "She died when she was 26, and I'm going to be 26 next year. That's hard."
Despite a reward for several thousand dollars to anyone who could provide information leading to the killers arrest, there was radio silence.
With no leads, investigators turned to the possibility of identifying the suspect using forensic results analyzed by a private lab.
Destiny said of their failed attempts: “We thought the reward would have done something. We thought hiring a private investigator would have done something. Nothing. Silence. From a small town where everybody knows everything."
On August 29, 2025, an arrest warrant was executed for Saul Gonzalez, 66, of San Antonio. He was indicted the same day for capital murder in connection with the death of Valerie Laguna.
Saul Gonzalez was not completely unknown to authorities, and he had been on the La Salle County Sherriff's office radar since 2020, when several pieces of evidence were submitted to BODE Technology, who were able to create DNA profiles for the suspect. The following year, Valeries case became eligible for the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program.
The SAKI program (Sexual Assault Kit Initiative) is a U.S. government project that helps police departments test rape kits from older cases that have been sitting on the shelf in evidence. If obtained, suspect DNA is put through national databases to search for a match, and if a match is found, it can aid police in solving older, or cold cases.
The program also supports investigators with funding so they can have access to labs.
A profile was created from DNA lifted from the evidence in the Laguna case, and in 2023, Gonzalez was identified as a suspect in the murders.
According to a public statement published by LA Salle County Sheriff's Office, Gonzalez was arrested without incident at the Eagle Ford Crossing in Cotulla, TX.
The statement also stated that the details of the case have remained limited due to the pending prosecution. Gonzalez has been booked into the La Salle County Jail on a one million dollar bond.
La Salle County, Sheriff Héctor Ramírez, said of the arrest: “For twenty years, this community has carried the memory of a terrible loss… This arrest represents a significant step toward justice. More importantly, it represents a moment for healing, for the victim’s family, who have waited so long, and for a community that has never forgotten.”
He added: “This case has always been about more than just solving a crime. It has been about giving a voice to the victim, honouring her memory, and providing hope to her family. We know that nothing can erase the pain of the past, but we pray that this step forward brings comfort as we now move into the prosecution phase.”
Comments under the statement from those from the local area, wonder if one or more additional suspects will be arrested in the near future, as initially, reports of more than one suspect being responsible were published in early reports on the case.
One commenter wrote : “It wasn't just him....the other knows they will be coming for him soon even though he has gotten away with other murders of women in that area...if Street justice doesn't get him first...the law will ..my money is on those who will get justice for her and that child....”
With another responding: "Is he the guy that use to work in the oilfield back in 1990 or so?"
"yes that’s him. He’s the monster all this time. Everybody knew him.”, “ Valerie and her baby can rest in peace thank you God for justice.”