Man faces murder charge after girlfriend found dead in bathtub

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man faces a murder charge after his girlfriend was found dead in her bathtub in southeast Austin Sunday night, according to documents filed in court.

The woman’s boyfriend, Sergio Jose Gomez Herrada, faces a first-degree felony murder charge and $300,000 bond. He is not in custody, according to the latest update provided by police Tuesday afternoon.

Herrada, 33, was last seen Monday in Bastrop in the Lost Pines area. Police are asking Bastrop County residents to be aware of their surroundings as Herrada is likely carrying a firearm and is considered “extremely dangerous.”

Authorities have the understanding that he does not intend to be taken in by police.

Police found 41-year-old Francy Vanessa Martinez’ body just before 11 p.m. Sunday in her home at the 2500 block of Chaparral Trail. She was fully clothed in a locked bathroom and showed “trauma” on her body that was consistent with homicide. She was declared deceased minutes later. Martinez’s car was missing and police asked for public help Monday in finding it.

When police questioned Martinez’s daughter, she told them she’d last heard from her mother on Saturday morning. When she got home from work Saturday night, she noticed her mother’s car was missing from the driveway. Both cars belonging to Herrada were parked in the driveway.

When she asked Herrada about it, he told her that he and Martinez were going to a park in Georgetown. Martinez’ daughter went out Saturday night and when she came back at about 1 a.m. Sunday, she saw her mother’s car was still missing.

Late Sunday morning, Martinez’ daughter said she came out to check for her mother’s car and it was still missing. Concerned, she texted and called her mother and Herrada all day but neither responded. Eventually, she called the police to report her mother missing and was waiting for police to arrive when other family members showed up at the house.

She and a cousin decided to check in Martinez’s bedroom. They found that the bathroom door was locked. They tried to force the door open and used a cellphone flashlight to look inside and saw Martinez’s body.

On Monday, police reviewed surveillance footage from Saturday and saw Martinez come home in her red Toyota Camry with Texas license plate FHZ-0260 just after 6:30 p.m. She is seen talking to Herrada and later going into the house. Herrada was seen walking into the garage and going out of sight of the camera.

At about 8 p.m., Herrada was seen getting into Martinez’s car and driving off by himself. Martinez was not seen coming out of the house again.