Woman Was Sexually Assaulted and Murdered on Texas Hiking Trail Last Year. Now Police Say They Have 'Monster' Suspect By KC Baker

A Texas woman was brutally beaten, sexually assaulted and found dead in a park in 2024 — and now authorities believe they have found her killer.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar on Wednesday announced the arrest of Samuel Aquim Charon, 23, in connection to the murder of Stacey Dramiga, 63.

He is charged with capital murder and tampering with a human corpse, Salazar said at a press conference on Oct. 15.

He is being held at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on a $1.25 million bond, online court records show.

“That man is a monster,” Salazar said of Charon.

Dramiga’s family members reported her missing on Sept. 22, 2024, Salazar said.

She had gone out walking that day at the Salado Creek Greenway trails, he said. She was known to go for long walks – 8 to 10 miles at a time, he said. But when she failed to return home after 12 hours had passed, her family called 911.

Her car was found the next morning at Comanche Park, Salazar said. That day, a park police officer found her remains just off of the trail.

Dramiga died from blunt force and penetrating trauma to the head. She was also sexually assaulted and partially burned, Salazar said.

Investigators collected DNA from her body and a rock they believe “was most likely the murder weapon,” he said, and the genetic samples matched — but they didn’t know whose DNA it was for more than a year.

Then on Oct. 13, “we got a call that broke this case wide open for us,” Salazar said.

On April 9, authorities took a sample of DNA from Charon when he was booked into the Bexar County jail on charges of felony criminal mischief.

When his DNA was put into the CODIS system, it allegedly matched that found at the Salado Creek crime scene. A second sample from Charon verified the match.

Charon was taken into custody and invoked his right to remain in “stone cold” silence, Salazar said. He was “devoid of any emotion” even when confronted with grisly pictures from the crime scene, he alleged.

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Calling the crime “savage,” Salazar said detectives believe Charon attacked Dramiga in broad daylight, surprising her while she was on the trail and forcing her further back into the woods, where he allegedly killed her.

“We do believe that he acted alone,” he said, but asked anyone with any information to come forward.

It is unclear whether Charon has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.