Key piece in puzzle solved in Midland County double homicide case

Midland County investigators now know the cause of death in a double murder investigation.

A preliminary autopsy report shows that both victims died from gunshot wounds to the head, which suggests the two deaths are connected. The double homicide investigation timeline seems to match up with the only open missing persons case in Midland County, where two teenagers have been missing since October 2015.

"You start with nothing and then here's one piece and here's another piece," Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter said.

It all started back on January 27th, with a tip that led deputies, the Texas Rangers and the F.B.I. to a tree farm just south of I-20 in Midland County.

Light towers, excavators and cadaver dogs were all part of the search efforts for human remains, in what investigators believed was a cold double homicide case dating back to 2015.

Flash forward nearly two weeks later where in a matter of 13 days investigators were able to put together three key pieces of the puzzle.

"We did not anticipate that we'd be this far ahead this fast. We were expecting to still be using picks and shovels to dig things up," Sheriff Painter said.

The first body was found in a pit, eight feet below the ground and exactly one week later detectives found another body 14 feet underground. The remains of the second body, believed to be a male, were unique in that plenty of tissue was left on the body making the identification process even easier.

Only a couple pieces are left in the puzzle and they are the answers to the following two questions... could the bodies be those of two teenagers who have been missing since October 2015 -- Ashley Marie Cruz-Rodriguez and John Raymond Iglesia-Alvarez? Who killed them?

"All of the questions that you have is who, what, when, where, why and how -- all of those must be answered," Sheriff Painter said.

The official autopsy report, which will identify both bodies, is expected within a few weeks.