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An alleged murder near Elgin led to a police chase Wednesday almost a hundred miles away.
Sofia Vera, 19, was reportedly killed Dec. 30, 2022. An alleged suspect, Raul Anthony Cabellero, 22, was then pursued by multiple agencies Jan. 4 before crashing and reportedly shooting himself.
"They … approached the car, and he was not moving,” said Sheriff Maurice Cook in a Fox 7 Austin interview, “and there’s some indication that there was a self-inflicted gunshot wound."
He remained hospitalized as of the most recent update Thursday.
According to the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office, Vera’s body was found on FM 1704 near Elgin around 8:07 p.m. the day its believed she died. Deputies responded and observed a gunshot wound on Vera.
Her parents reported her missing around the same time investigators began to look into the whereabouts of her reported boyfriend, Caballero.
"It really got to developing (Jan. 3) that maybe the boyfriend was involved in the death of Vera," said Cook.
According to authorities, Caballero fled the scene in Vera’s white 2014 Nissan Altima and was using her cell phone. He lived in the Bryan and College Station area, which led to law enforcement there joining the investigation. Vera officially lived at an Elgin address but is suspected to have occasionally resided with Caballero.
On Wednesday, shortly after an arrest warrant for murder was issued for Caballero, the suspectwas located in Bryan and began to be pursued near the Harvey Mitchell Parkway before driving onto S.H. 6. As he traveled southbound through and beyond College Station, officers from both cities assisted in the chase. Bryan police reports Caballero struck a Chevrolet SUV on the way, which is being investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
When Caballero entered Navasota, the city’s officers were waiting with spike strips after closing southbound and northbound lanes of S.H. 6. Caballero attempted to exit the highway but crashed in a brush near railroad tracks.
After being found with life-threatening injuries, Caballero was airlifted to St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital in Bryan.
