Police want to know what happened to 24-year-old Cristian Rangel from the time he got into an SUV in a Walmart parking lot on April 8 and before his body was found in a Southeast Austin greenbelt on April 19.
Kamery Wooldridge, 31, was charged in May with tampering with a corpse in the case. The charge is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Police Detective Patrick Reed would not say at a news conference Friday whether the woman was a suspect in Rangel’s homicide.
“We’re here to determine whether others were involved,” he said.
Police think Wooldridge picked up Rangel at a Walmart and later disposed of his body at a greenbelt, according to an arrest affidavit filed May 14.
More: Woman arrested in death of man whose body was found in Southeast Austin greenbelt in April
Rangel’s mother, Misty Moon, choked through tears as she described her son at the news conference where 10 other relatives stood quietly behind her.
“He was our son, a father, a brother, a nephew and a friend who is deeply missed,” said Moon. “He had his whole life ahead of him. A life filled with promise love and dreams. His smile would light up any room. He would be the first person to give the shirt off his back to a stranger. Family meant everything to him, and without him ours will never be the same.”