A 62-year-old man was initially detained for questioning after 46-year-old Toni Lea DeBuse was found dead in the bedroom of the man’s home.
Within hours, deputies had the evidence they needed to arrest the man on murder charges, and he remains behind bars on a $1 million bond.
The man had reportedly called an ex family member to report that a female had been shot at his home, and that family member then dialed 9-1-1. Deputies believe that alcohol and or drugs may have been a contributing factor.
“The victim was shot and killed in the bedroom of the home with a .22 rifle. When we arrived the man was found in the tall weeds surrounding the house,” said Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown. “He was first detained for questioning. After gathering more information from the crime scene, we were able to make an arrest and charge him with the murder of Toni DeBuse.”
He was booked into Medina County Jail at 4:30 pm.
“From the information and evidence we gathered in that bedroom and the medical examiner’s report we know that it definitely was not a suicide or an accident,” Sheriff Brown said. “We have a good, solid case and the evidence will prove it.”
The sheriff says DeBuse was reportedly living at the man’s home, and local residents might have seen them as they often sat on the side of Hwy 132 in Devine selling barrels across the street from the old Medina Valley State Bank.
For more information, see the June 13 edition of The Devine News.
