SAN ANTONIO – New details have come to light from an arrest affidavit after DNA evidence linked a San Antonio man to the brutal 2024 killing of 63-year-old Stacey Dramiga, whose body was found burned along the Salado Creek Greenway.
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According to investigators, a DNA profile recovered from Dramiga’s body matched that of 23-year-old Samuel Aquim Charon, whose genetic information was entered into the state database following a shoplifting citation earlier this month.
The match, confirmed by the Bexar County Criminal Investigation Laboratory, ties Charon directly to the scene of the crime, which was a wooded trail near DaFoste Park, where Dramiga’s remains were discovered.
The arrest report shows that Dramiga was sexually assaulted and killed, suffering blunt force and penetrating trauma to the head before her body was set on fire. Forensic analysts said the chances that the DNA found on her belonged to anyone other than Samuel Aquim Charon were astronomical 1 in 126.9 quadrillion, giving investigators what they called “very strong support” that he was involved.
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Dramiga had been reported missing on Sept. 22, 2024, after leaving home for one of her usual long walks. Her husband, Daniel, told deputies she often hiked up to 10 miles on weekends, especially along trails near Comanche Park and the AT&T Center.
When she didn’t return, a family friend found her car at Comanche Park, but searches turned up nothing. The next day, investigators used her iPad’s Find My Phone app to track her cellphone to DaFoste Park, where San Antonio Park Police found a body just off the paved greenway.
The burned remains matched what she had been wearing, and an autopsy confirmed her identity.
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For more than a year, the case went cold. That is until Monday when a routine computer search of the Texas State DNA Index System flagged a match to Charon. Deputies got a search warrant for a buccal swab, which confirmed the link.
When questioned, Charon denied any involvement, telling investigators over and over, “That’s not possible,” when they told him his DNA had been found on the victim.
Authorities now allege that Charon intentionally murdered and sexually assaulted Dramiga before setting her body on fire. He has been charged with capital murder, a crime that carries the possibility of the death penalty.
Dramiga was a member of the Brooke Army Medical Center staff.