BROWNSVILLE — A Brownsville man accused in the death of a home healthcare provider in May is now facing multiple child pornography charges and one count of invasive visual recording, according to authorities.
Armando Gerardo Tovar, 43, was arrested by Brownsville police on May 26 and charged with killing 69-year-old Gilda Tovar-Cantellano on May 14.
Tovar is accused of causing the death of Tovar-Cantellano “by strangulation with a string and/or suffocation with pillow,” according to the July 5 indictment against him.
Brownsville Police Department spokesman J.J. Trevino said authorities believe the two were step-siblings.
Tovar-Cantellano’s nephew discovered her body inside an apartment at the 400 block of Jose Marti Boulevard after checking on her because she never arrived home from work.
Tovar-Cantellano was a healthcare provider for an elderly woman who lived at the address, authorities said at the time of Tovar’s arrest.
In the months following Tovar’s arrest, a grand jury indicted Armando Gerardo Tovar on four counts of possession of child pornography and one count of invasive visual recording bath/dressing room, court records show.
Cameron County District Attorney spokeswoman Yvette Vela confirmed that the murder and child pornography case are related, but said she couldn’t go into further detail regarding how.
According to that indictment, on May 1, just two weeks before Tovar-Cantellano was found dead, Tovar was in possession of four photos taken of a minor younger than 18 without her consent showing the child in the bathroom, court records show.
Tovar pleaded not guilty to those charges on Nov. 17, court records show. On Monday, Vela said the defense and prosecution met for a status review of the case.
Tovar is being held in the Cameron County Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center on a $1,110,000 bond on all the charges.
