EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — A 28-year-old woman accused of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence involving a human corpse in connection with the death of a retired police detective in West El Paso faces a significantly lower bond.
Idalia Nunez De La Torre and 29-year-old John Michael De Coste were arrested last week after a SWAT situation in West El Paso led to the discovery of a body identified as De Coste’s father, David Edward De Coste, a retired El Paso Police detective, whose remains were left in the home for days after a violent confrontation led to his death.
John Michael De Coste is charged with murder in connection with the death of his father, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence with a human corpse, and continuous violence against the family.
During Tuesday’s bond hearing for Idalia Nunez De La Torre, a magistrate reduced De La Torre’s original bond from $150,000 to $50,000.
According to the magistrate, who decides the bond amount, the decision to reduce De La Torre’s bond was tied to her codefendant’s bond amounts. De Coste has a $50,000 bond on the same tampering charge as De La Torre and a $100,000 bond on the murder charge.
According to the magistrate, he reduced De La Torre’s bond to $50,000 “out of fairness” as De Coste’s bond for that same charge is $50,000.
Court records show De La Torre had initially asked for her bond to be reduced to $1,000.
The magistrate said that while De La Torre’s bond was lowered, she will be under intense supervision and cannot consume drugs or alcohol, possess weapons or guns, or have contact with her codefendant.
The charges against De La Torre and De Coste came after a SWAT incident last week on the 6800 block of Villa Hermosa led to the discovery of David Edward De Coste.
According to affidavits previously obtained by KFOX14/CBS4, El Paso police were dispatched to the home after a neighbor called 911 and reported that the garage door had been open for several days and that a strong foul odor was coming from the property.
When officers arrived, they also smelled the odor and saw that the garage door was slightly open.
During a safety sweep, officers found a body wrapped in plastic in the garage, the affidavits state.
Police continued searching the home but initially could not locate anyone else. After officers heard a voice inside, the El Paso Police Department SWAT team was called to the scene.
De La Torre eventually came out of the home, and De Coste later surrendered and was taken into custody, according to investigators.
De La Torre later told investigators she began living with De Coste and the victim on Aug. 2.
She said she and the victim had kissed on several occasions while De Coste was away from the home.
According to her account, De Coste later walked into a bedroom and saw her and the victim kissing.
According to the document, an argument between the two men followed and escalated into a physical confrontation. De La Torre told police she did not witness the physical altercation and did not participate in assaulting the victim.
Meanwhile, De Coste told investigators that after the victim had been dead for several days, he ordered a body bag from Amazon, according to the affidavit.
He allegedly asked De La Torre to help place the body in the bag and move it into the garage, the document stated.
De La Torre similarly told investigators that De Coste ordered the body bag and that the two placed the victim’s body inside it before moving it to the garage.
She also admitted using cleaning products on the area where the body had previously been located, according to her affidavit. Bond for woman charged with corpse tampering in West El Paso death cut to $50K
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