Warrants focus on missing mom's husband

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Blood spatters and a hole dug beneath a shed are among the discoveries police made at the home of Julie Ann Gonzalez’s estranged husband.

Gonzalez has been missing since March 26, and her estranged husband, George DeLaCruz, has been person of interest since her disappearance.

An unsealed search warrant shows items police recovered from his home during their investigation, as well as Facebook, MySpace, and e-mails made from DeLaCruz’s computer.

According to the warrant, officers spoke with DeLaCruz who told them Julie Ann Gonzalez arrived at his house between 10:30-11am on the day she disappeared and asked DeLaCruz to take care of their 2-year-old daughter for a few days since she was leaving.
DeLaCruz agreed to watch the girl, but says he did not know where she was going.

Police believe that was the last time anyone saw Gonzalez, whose car was found two days later outside the Walgreen’s where she worked.

Several swabs, including one of apparent blood stains, are among the listed items found during the search.

During an interview with DeLaCruz’s mother, Victoria, she showed detectives a large hole which had been dug beneath the floor of a storage shed in the back yard of his home at 5809 Garden Oaks Drive.

Victoria told officers she discovered the hole on May 4th and reported it to police. Detectives say George told them the hole had been dug by the previous owners for plumbing.

As the investigation continued, detectives found financial records that showed a Wal-Mart purchase at 2:20pm on March 26th using Gonzalez’s debit card. Video still shots from surveillance show a male similar in description to DeLaCruz pushing a child in a shopping cart. The young girl appears to be the daughter of Gonzalez and DeLaCruz.

DeLaCruz’s Myspace account shows he made comments to friends about the investigation.

As of right now, APD says DeLaCruz is still just a person of interest, although the search warrant application says the investigation is being conducted to show DeLaCruz committed murder.

On Monday afternoon, the Austin police issued the following statement:

On March 27, 2010 Julie Ann Gonzalez was reported missing. Initially it appeared that
Julie’s disappearance was voluntary based on text messages sent to Julie’s family and
friends from her cell phone. However, the length of time since Julie’s last communication
with family and other information uncovered causes concern about Julie’s welfare. While
voluntary withdrawal cannot be conclusively eliminated as a possibility, it becomes more
unlikely as each day passes without contact from Julie.
A team of investigators from the Austin Police Department Violent Crimes Command have
been investigating this case. During the investigation, APD gathered information that led
us to believe that her disappearance may not have been voluntary. On May 14, 2010,
APD executed a search warrant at the residence of George De La Cruz, Julie’s estranged
husband. In that search warrant, detectives asked for numerous items of evidence that
they believed would be found at the residence. While some items were seized that may
be of evidentiary value, not all items sought were found.
At this time, George De La Cruz is considered a person of interest and it is believed that
he has information that could be of great assistance to the investigation. De La Cruz has
been interviewed in the past but is currently not cooperating with the investigation.
In the best interest of this investigation, APD is unable to share additional information at
this time.
APD has been and continues to work diligently on this investigation. The investigation will
not end until Julie’s family has the answers it seeks about what has happened to her.
APD appreciates the assistance we have received from national, local media and tips from
citizens. APD is grateful to the assistance of Julie’s family and their tireless efforts to keep
her information in the public forum. The department urges anyone with information about
Julie’s current whereabouts or the circumstances under which she disappeared to call the
Austin Police Department’s Homicide Tipline at 512-477-3588.