The fate of a man accused of murdering a South Bend woman and dumping her body near Culver Military Academy last spring will soon be in the hands of a St. Joseph County jury. Yesterday they watched Alberto Cruz’s emotional interview with police before he led them to Alma Del Real’s body. At that time she had been missing for six weeks, having last been seen with Cruz at a South Bend night club.
In the interview, Cruz described her death as a “freak accident” according to WNDU-TV. He claims she agreed to have sex with him but tried to extort money from him afterward by threatening to say he raped her, or at least tell his girlfriend. Cruz says he tried to walk out, but Del Real hit him. He told the police he shoved her, she hit her head on the floor and had no vital signs. Cruz claims he choked Del Real after she was dead to “cover up” his actions.
The doctor who performed Del Real’s autopsy testified no skull fracture was present. However she could not rule it out due to the advanced state of decomposition when the body was found six weeks later.
Authorities say that gave Cruz plenty of time to cover his tracks. For instance, they say no blood was found in his truck, which he confessed using to dump Del Real’s body. Also the tire tracks at the scene didn’t match his treads, indicating he had them changed before confessing.
