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Texas Suspect Linked by DNA to 2018 and 2024 Killings Is Held Without Bond

Officials say DNA links the killings, signaling a wider case review.

Overview

  • Benítez-González, arrested April 27 in Dallas by U.S. Marshals, has been held in the Travis County Jail without bond since May 4 under a Texas law that allows judges to deny bail to protect public safety.
  • He is charged with first-degree murder in the 2024 killing of Alyssa Ann Rivera in Austin and with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon tied to separate 2025 shootings on Burton Drive.
  • Investigators say preserved DNA connects the suspect to Rivera’s case and to the 2018 killing of Alba Jenisse Aviles in Bastrop County, while ballistics and a seized cellphone helped link the 2025 attacks.
  • ICE placed a detainer on the suspect and says Border Patrol arrested and deported him to Mexico in 2020 before he later reentered the United States.
  • DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis publicly condemned the suspect and authorities are asking anyone with information or potential victimization to contact Austin police or Capital Area Crime Stoppers.