LAREDO – On Friday, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Texas Rangers, in collaboration with the La Salle Co. Sheriff’s Office, executed an arrest warrant for Saul Gonzalez, 66, a resident of San Antonio, Texas, at the Eagle Ford Crossing in Cotulla. On August 29, 2025, a La Salle Co. grand jury indicted Gonzalez for capital murder connected to a 2005 cold case.
On July 19, 2005, Valerie Laguna was found deceased at the Cristo Rey Cemetery in Cotulla, Texas. Laguna appeared to have been sexually assaulted, beaten, and strangled. She was approximately eight months pregnant at the time of her death. Laguna’s unborn baby also died.
The La Salle Co. Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the Texas Rangers, Williamson Co. Sheriff’s Office, DPS Crime Laboratory and the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, assisted in the investigation. Numerous witnesses were interviewed, and DNA samples were collected from multiple individuals and Gonzalez was eventually identified as a possible suspect. Still there were no major breaks in the case.
Then in 2020, the La Salle Co. Sheriff’s Office submitted multiple pieces of evidence to BODE Technology. DNA profiles were obtained from the evidentiary items.
In 2021, Laguna’s case was identified by the Texas Rangers as being eligible for the Texas Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program which is funded by the Department of Justice/Bureau of Justice Assistance (DOJ/BJA). DOJ/BJA provides investigative funding for agencies across the United States to further unsolved sexual assaults and sexually related homicides with the hope of bringing justice to victims and their families.
In 2023, BODE Technology conducted additional analysis of previously submitted evidence and new evidence. DNA comparisons lead to the discovery of Gonzalez’ DNA on evidentiary items.
Gonzalez has now been charged with capital murder and is being held in the La Salle Co. Jail.
###(DPS - South Texas Region)