Ruth Valdez, 49, was found stabbed to death on February 17, 2016, on the North Side of San Antonio. Her body was discovered lying in a creek behind the Wood Hollow Apartments along Isom Road, covered with a tarp; it is unclear whether the tarp had been placed by passersby or by the perpetrator. People walking in the area located the body and notified authorities.

Investigators recovered a grocery receipt at the scene from an H-E-B about two miles away. Surveillance footage from that store showed Valdez and her boyfriend at the time, Hashim Hashim, making a purchase together before the killing. Hashim, an Iraqi refugee then 66, spoke with police in March 2016 with the help of an Arabic translator and later was arrested on unrelated domestic violence charges after moving to Buffalo, New York, which allowed further questioning about Valdez’s death. He denied killing her but was arrested in September 2019 for the stabbing.

Anyone who knew Ruth, frequented the Wood Hollow Apartments area, or saw her around Isom Road in February 2016 is asked to share information with investigators.