San Antonio, TX – A man from San Antonio, Texas, has been taken into custody after allegedly relocating his mother’s remains to a storage unit over a year after her death. Rogelio Bernal, 53, was found to have rented the storage unit that had recently gone to auction. The new renter of the unit contacted the police upon discovering human remains inside a trash can that was stored there.
On December 22, Bernal was initially arrested on unrelated drug charges, but during his arrest, he reportedly confessed to identifying the remains as those of his deceased mother. According to Bernal, he had been her caregiver in their shared apartment, where she had passed away several years ago. However, rather than contacting authorities when she fell in the shower and was still alive, Bernal claimed he refrained from doing so due to his criminal record.
To conceal his mother’s body, Bernal allegedly placed her in a hall closet and covered her remains in lye and cleaning supplies for more than a year. He later obtained the storage unit, where he ultimately disposed of her body in a trash can.
Bernal now faces charges of altering, destroying, or concealing a human corpse.