Houston Police Charge Suspect in 2023 Alief Apartment Murder, Search Continues

HOUSTON – Houston Police are searching for a 31-year-old man charged with murder nearly three years after a man was found fatally shot outside an apartment complex in the Alief area.

Alexander Funes-Vasquez, 31, has been charged with murder in the 488th Criminal District Court in connection with the death of Edward Josue Valladarez-Vargas, 21. Funes-Vasquez remains at large, police said.

Officers responded around 11:35 p.m. Oct. 22, 2023, to a report of a person down at the Summerstone Apartments in the 9300 block of Dairy View Lane.

Police found Valladarez-Vargas unresponsive near bushes at the apartment complex. He had suffered at least one gunshot wound and was pronounced dead by Houston Fire Department paramedics.

Houston Police homicide investigators later identified Funes-Vasquez as a suspect. After detectives consulted with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, a murder charge was filed against him.

Police have not disclosed what led investigators to identify Funes-Vasquez as the suspect or released information about a possible motive.

Anyone with information about Funes-Vasquez’s whereabouts or the homicide is asked to contact the Houston Police Department’s Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.