Sheriff: Suspect Wanted for Murder Commits Suicide

COLEMAN, TX — Coleman County Sheriff Les Cogdill has released new details in the shooting that occurred Wednesday morning.

Local media outlets initially reported the incident as an officer-involved shooting, but it now appears the suspect committed suicide before he could be arrested for murder.

According to Cogdill, the sheriff’s office received a tip about 44-year-old Juan Diego Hernandez on Friday.

After contacting the Texas Rangers and U.S. Marshals, the agencies were able to confirm that Hernandez was wanted in Mexico for killing his wife, Gaby Reyna. For months, Reyna's family had been sharing Hernandez's picture on social media asking the public's help to locate the alleged killer.

Around 6:00 a.m. Wednesday morning U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and Texas Rangers began surveillance near the trailer where the suspect was staying. Cogdill said he spotted Hernandez behind a trailer home in the 700 block of Ripley Street.

Around 8:00 a.m. additional law enforcement officers arrive at the scene and the suspect ran inside the trailer. Approximately 10 minutes later, the suspect emerged with a revolver to his head. Without saying a word the suspect pulled the trigger.

The sheriff’s office believes the suspect had been in Coleman for two to three weeks and was working for a local fence company. The murder warrant for the suspect was issued on June 26.

KTXS spoke with a woman who lives in the trailer who confirmed the suspect was her ex brother-in-law. The woman, identified as Evelyn Calvillo, said the suspect had been working for her husband’s fence company.

She confirmed the suspect had told them that he was accused of killing his wife but that he claimed he did not commit the crime.