There have been no arrests since a 28-year-old Cuban woman went missing while on her daily walk and was later found dead a month ago.
Detectives say they’re still collecting and sifting through possible leads.
Mariadelis Labrador Siles was reported missing on March 10 by her boyfriend “Julio” from his home in the 10700 block of Tiger Horse Drive. He told police that she left her phone and belongings at home and that he last saw her at 9 a.m., possibly walking to Wildhorse Sports Park, a family-oriented HOA neighborhood facility a block away.
Her brother, Osmiel Labrador — who filmed his parents pleading for help finding their then-missing daughter on March 12 — said neighbors told police they heard arguing coming from the home she lived at.
“I think she wanted to pack her things and leave,” her brother said. “They told the Sheriff that, and so did [another friend].”
On March 12, a body was found in a wooded area of her neighborhood near Helotes Creek with stab wounds to the chest. Two days later, officials confirmed it was Labrador Siles.
An autopsy report is not yet available, so details are limited. Although the manner of death was determined as a stab wound to the chest, it is unclear if the trauma was self-inflicted or the result of a homicide or assault, according to officials.
BCSO Spokesman Johnny Garcia said criminal investigators are still reviewing evidence, including video surveillance footage.
“We deeply understand the concerns of the family and are committed to keeping them informed and supported as the investigation progresses,” he said. “As this remains an ongoing case, the BCSO continues to gather and review all available information.”
On April 4, the BCSO turned to the public to ask for help solving the case. Anyone who lives in the far Northwest side neighborhood who may have been out for spring break is encouraged to share video footage from March 10 between 9 a.m. to noon.
Footage including a woman wearing tan shorts and a blue long sleeve zip up sweatshirt in the neighborhoods behind Dean H. Krueger Elementary School and Cadence Academy Preschool should be shared with bcsotips@bexar.org.
Labrador Siles had lived in the United States since Jan. 9, 2024. She migrated from Pinar Del Rio, Cuba, the most western province of the island through the humanitarian parole program launched in 2022, which allowed anyone legally in the U.S. to sponsor people from Cuba and Venezuela financially.
In January, she applied for her residency through the Cuban Adjustment Act, which provides a path to permanent residency after a year of living in the U.S.
Her legal entry was sponsored by her romantic partner, who she lived with in San Antonio, just miles away from where she was found.
In the meantime, she worked cleaning houses and sold detergent, her brother said.
She was waiting for that white envelope with her residency card to book her flight home to Cuba, he said.
“On July 25, she was going to come celebrate our grandmother’s birthday,” Labrador said in tears, adding that the family cannot bear to tell her the truth about her death.
Labrador said his sister was calling home less, and worried him with one call one evening. He reassured her that if she needed to get away, a family friend, lived in Houston, and another friend, who had already offered to let her stay with her for a while, lived three hours away.
“She told me, ‘No my brother, don’t worry’ and she hung up,” he said.
Thinking back, he believes those were signs of his sister needing help.
The Labrador family, unable to enter the U.S. and thousands of miles away, said they finally got to see their girl this week through a WhatsApp video call, Labrador said, sobbing for his baby sister, who he said was 10 years younger than him.
She’s currently at a funeral home in San Antonio and will soon be flown to her home country. A GoFundMe started by a family friend within days of her death raised more than $13,000 to pay for the flight.
Crosses and flowers left at the site where her body was found a month ago have turned into a makeshift memorial.
“I told her friend to add purple to her memorial because purple was the color of her Saint in our religion, Saint Lazarus,” her brother said.
