Lago Vista employee accused of not reporting 16-year-old son's death, burying him
AUSTIN (KXAN) — An employee with the City of Lago Vista was charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence involving a human corpse in connection with the death of her son, according to a Travis County affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Lago Vista police assisted Child Protective Services on March 10 regarding a call for a welfare check on a bed-bound, physically and mentally handicapped 16-year-old boy, but officials could not find the boy at the home.
Documents stated the boy’s mother was 34-year-old Veronica Soriano.
Soriano worked for the City of Lago Vista's Public Works Department at the time of the investigation.
During a call with CPS that day, the woman said "my son is dead" and said "she is not ready to talk about it because she cannot accept that he is gone," according to the affidavit.
The affidavit said the following day, a search was conducted on a piece of property in Travis County and officials uncovered the body wearing only a diaper and covered in a white powdery substance. According to court documents, the body was in the late stages of decomposition.
Police found shovels, a pickaxe and a bottle labeled "Stump Out" filled with white powder in the woman's car a few days later.
Documents said an autopsy was performed on the recovered body, but the cause and manner of death were still pending.
According to the affidavit, search warrants were executed, and officials also found incriminating evidence in the form of text messages and web searching involving Soriano’s son.
KXAN reached out to Soriano's attorney for comment and will update this story when we receive a response.