TOMBALL, Texas — Two people were arrested after a missing man's body was found wrapped in black plastic and secured with duct tape in the Tomball area.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office performed a welfare check Saturday evening at a large property on Ezekiel Road near the SH 249 and Grand Parkway interchange.
When deputies arrived, they found the body of 32-year-old Francisco Romero inside a detached structure wrapped in plastic after spotting his vehicle on the property. The sheriff's office said Romero was reported missing by his wife.
During their investigation, the sheriff's office discovered Narciso Cruz Banos, 49, and his wife Francisca Salazar Carrizales, 42, own the property and that the couple admitted they were connected to Romero's death. Both were then booked into Harris County Jail.
Banos is charged with felony murder, aggravated kidnapping, and tampering with evidence of a human corpse, according to court documents. Carrizales faces the same charges. Both requested a court-appointed attorney during their appearance in probable cause court. Neither Banos nor Carrizales is a U.S. citizen.
Banos has lived in the Houston area for 30 years and runs an electrical business, where his wife also serves as secretary. The couple have two children together, an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old.
Banos does have a criminal history. He had an aggravated assault charge that he pleaded down to, an unlawful carrying of a weapon charge from 2006, and a DWI conviction from 2021. He will be required to wear an ankle monitor.
The total bond was set at $600,000 for Banos and at $500,000 for Carrizales. Banos was also placed under house arrest and the couple may not have contact with each other.
According to court documents, Romero's wife told deputies that she had received a call from her husband Thursday saying that he was going to spend the night at his boss' house and was going to go to work in the morning from the residence, which he never did.
The wife said she was suspicious because her husband sounded like he was injured. Romero was last known to be at the Ezekiel Road address sometime on Friday.
Romero's wife then called Banos to question him on where her husband was since he was not answering his phone, court documents state. Banos told her that her husband had been having an affair with his wife and that he had pistol-whipped him. He added that Romero had left his property and that he did not know where he was.
Then Carrizales called Romero's wife telling her to pick up her husband's last paycheck, which was suspicious because they used direct deposit, court documents said. She also told her that her husband's truck was still on the property and that she could pick it up on Monday.
According to court documents, after Banos found out that Romero had an affair with his wife, he tied him up with a belt and straps. He then beat Romero with the stock end of a rifle and the grip of a handgun, court records said. After the assault, which lasted for an extended period of time, Bano said he told Romero to get off his property.
However, he said Romero appeared incoherent and unable to drive. Romero then asked to sleep on the property. That is when Banos and Carrizales contacted his wife.
According to court documents, the couple said they then went to go run errands. When they returned, they found Romero unresponsive and determined that he was dead Friday night.
After he died, according to court documents, Banos and Carrizales wrapped him up in plastic and left his body in a building on their property.
Watch their court appearance below:
"This is really scary for us," one neighbor who lives in the area told KHOU as neighbors asked about the man's death.
The neighbor didn't know the couple or the man who died but said everything appeared normal on Friday morning when she passed by the property.
"They were just outside with the horses on Friday … so it’s just really a normal neighborhood to us, so it’s scary,” she said.