The remains of 22-year-old Sul Ross State University student Zuzu Verk has been found and confirmed. The Texas College student went missing last October, leading to an unsolved case that would go on for months.
ABC News reported that human remains discovered in a shallow grave in West Texas last week were identified as being that of Zuzu Verk. Investigators confirmed on Monday that dental records helped identify the remains.
Verk was a 22-year-old Sul Ross State University student from Keller, a Fort Worth suburb. She has been reported missing since Oct. 12. According to WFAA, over the weekend of her disappearance, over 100 people helped with the search in the small town in southwest Texas.
She was last seen alive the night of Oct. 11 with her boyfriend Robert Fabian as they went to the movies together. Neighbors claimed that they heard the couple arguing that night.
The student's remains were found on Friday scattered near a shallow grave. It was discovered near the remote West Texas town of Alpine, which is approximately 200 miles southeast of El Paso.
Verk's boyfriend, Fabian, 26, was jailed for tampering with evidence by concealing a human corpse. Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson said that there may be other charges for him as well. Bond was set at $500,000.
Fabian's friend, Chris Estrada, 28, was also jailed on Monday in Phoenix on a corpse concealment warrant from Texas. Investigators confirmed that Fabian called Estrada on the night of Verk's disappearance.
NBC News noted that Dodson described the grave site as "well-concealed." Other pieces of "critical evidence" were also found in the area.
Dallas News added that witnesses saw Fabian buying three painters' drop cloths on the night of his girlfriend's disappearance four months ago. The arrest warrant affidavit confirmed that those drop cloths matched the thin plastic sheets wrapped around Verk's body when it was found.
Fabian was said to have used Estrada's credit card to buy the cloths at Dollar General. Estrada also drove Fabian to the store and visited several commercial dumpsters in the same night.
