A Pharr man accused of killing a woman before dumping her body at a Donna parking lot is being held in custody on a $750,000 bond.
Andrew Stephen Scavnicky, 51, made his initial appearance before Donna municipal Judge Javier Garza on Tuesday on a charge of murder, Donna police Chief Gilbert Guerrero said.
Garza set Scavnicky’s bond at $750,000.
“We are still looking at other charges against him and possibly arresting more people,” Guerrero said.
“We think that somebody might’ve assisted him… that somebody helped him move the body.”
Guerrero was referring to the body of 43-year-old Monica Coronado Deleon, who was found in a parking lot on the 1000 block of West Frontage Road in Donna on Saturday morning.
Scavnicky confessed to killing Deleon, whom police describe as his acquaintance.
“He just stated that he just killed her,” Guerrero said.
“This happened on Saturday, we’re thinking between 12 (a.m.) and 4 o’clock in the morning,” he said about the time of the alleged murder.
Investigators believe Scavnicky strangled Deleon to death at his home at the Tip O’ Texas RV Resort in Pharr, Guerrero said.
From there, Scavnicky allegedly stole a maintenance truck that belongs to the park and used it to transport Deleon’s body to Pharr before returning to the RV park.
“The truck is in police custody right now for processing,” said Det. Sgt. Adrian Hooks, head of Donna PD’s criminal investigations division.
When Deleon’s body was discovered later that morning, she was missing some clothing. There were also signs of strangulation and bruising to her face and body.
She was found with “possible ligature marks on the neck and a strong odor of bleach on the body,” Hooks said.
The results of an autopsy performed on Monday have yet to be released.
As for what may have prompted the killing, investigators are still sussing out a motive.
“We did get a confession, but details are still kind of foggy,” Hooks said.
Scavnicky and Deleon were acquaintances, but the depth of their relationship remains unknown.
So, too, does what eventually led police to Scavnicky in the first place.
“Ultimately, we don’t want to release that information yet because it’s still really crucial to the investigation,” Hooks said.
But the detective did thank both the RV park and federal agents for their help in the investigation.
“(Scavnicky) is not an employee of their park and he wasn’t allowed to use their truck. And they’re being very cooperative with this investigation,” Hooks said of Tip O’ Texas.
Donna police arrested Scavnicky at the RV park on Monday with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals and the Texas Rangers, Chief Guerrero said.
“The relationship with these agencies really comes in handy for us working these kinds of cases. I ony have a six-man team (in the criminal investigative division),” Guerrero said.
“Other PDs have 20, 30 guys on CID. I only have five, six working. They did a tremendous job,” Guerrero said.
