Man indicted in ex-tv exec’s death
Acquaintance tied to killing by DNA, police say
A San Antonio man accused in the stabbing death in 2021 of a former News4 and Fox29 TV executive has been indicted on a murder charge.
Christopher Roel Olivarez, 40, an account executive for the Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. stations here from 2012-2016, was found dead Sept. 25, 2021, in the front yard of his home in the 300 block of Kirk Place on the Southwest Side. He had been stabbed multiple times, authorities said.
San Antonio police arrested Sebastian Lee Hernandez, 20, the following June. Investigators credited intense media coverage and a Crime Stoppers request to the public for information with helping them identify Hernandez as a suspect.
His case was among 247 felony indictments handed down in recent days by two Bexar County grand juries, the district attorney’s office said.
Police had released surveillance videos that recorded a person coming and going from Olivarez’s
home on Sept. 10 and 14, as well as on the night he was killed. Authorities said Olivarez and Hernandez were acquaintances, and they believed Hernandez was the person seen in the videos.
Police said DNA testing further linked Hernandez to evidence collected at the crime scene, including the knife believed to have been used in the stabbing.
The case is being prosecuted in the 186th District Court. If convicted of murder, Hernandez faces up to life in prison.
Also indicted was Jeremiah Nevarez, 34, who is charged with murder in a suspected road rage killing.
Nevarez is alleged to have fatally shot Andrew Rangel, 29, on May 4 in the southbound lanes of the 4000 block of Interstate 35 North near Brooke Army Medical Center.
San Antonio police and Crime Stoppers sought the public’s help in investigating the shooting. Authorities said Rangel was in his Honda Civic when he was shot by someone driving near him in a Buick Lesabre. Rangel lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree.
Nevarez was arrested after a witness alerted authorities that he had captured the shooting and the crash on a video, according to reports.
His case is being prosecuted in the 379th District Court. If convicted, Nevarez faces up to life in prison.
In another case, Victor Nathaneal Rivas, 18, was indicted on a murder charge in connection with the death of Ethan Soto, 15, on May 16.
According to TV reports, San Antonio police said tensions between the two escalated over allegations of stolen drugs.
Rivas’ case is being prosecuted in the 144th District Court. If convicted, Rivas faces up to life in prison.
In another indictment, Fabian Rodriguez is charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Oscar Roberto Santizo-orozco, also known as Oscar Santiossimon, on Aug. 20.
Rodriguez’s case is being prosecuted in the 379th District Court. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.