Michael Poche was found wrapped in plastic hours after a friend reported him missing, while two people face evidence-tampering charges.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — What began as a report of a missing man at a far West Side home has become a homicide investigation after authorities identified the person found wrapped in plastic inside a bedroom closet as 29-year-old Michael Anthony Poche. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Poche died from multiple sharp-force injuries.

The ruling resolved two major questions that remained unanswered when deputies made the discovery July 26. Authorities initially had not confirmed that the body was the same man reported missing earlier that day, and Sheriff Javier Salazar said at the scene that the official cause and manner of death would have to come from the medical examiner. Investigators now know the remains were Poche’s and that his death was a homicide. Margaret Kaye Brown and her husband, Christopher Boyd Henson, both 30, were arrested on charges of tampering with physical evidence, but public reporting through August has not identified either as charged with causing Poche’s death.

The investigation started when Brown called authorities at about 4:30 p.m. July 26 to report her longtime friend missing. Poche had recently moved to San Antonio and was renting a room at a home in the 700 block of Fort Leonard. Brown and a woman who lived at the home told deputies that Poche had left during the early morning hours after what they described as a “night terror.” The homeowner said she had last seen him at about 2 a.m. Deputies arrived expecting to investigate a disappearance, but the conditions inside the residence quickly changed the focus of their work.

According to the sheriff’s office, a deputy searching the home noticed evidence of blood. The deputy continued through the residence with people at the house present and eventually checked a vacant bedroom. Inside that room’s closet, deputies found a man’s body enclosed in clear plastic. Salazar said at the time that the wrapping was so tight that investigators considered the circumstances inconsistent with the suggestion that the man had simply harmed himself and disappeared. Deputies also observed numerous injuries on the body, though the complete medical findings were not available that evening.

The sheriff’s office then began treating the residence as a crime scene. Investigators said they found signs that someone had tried to clean portions of the scene before deputies arrived, including areas where blood evidence was present. Authorities accused Brown and Henson of participating in that cleanup and arrested them on one count each of tampering with physical evidence. Henson arrived at the residence while deputies were conducting their search. Investigators also said evidence believed to be connected to Poche’s death was recovered at another nearby residence, prompting plans for additional search-warrant work.

The medical examiner’s findings later gave investigators a clearer picture of what happened to Poche physically. His death was classified as a homicide caused by multiple sharp-force injuries involving several parts of his body. That determination did not itself identify who caused those injuries. A medical examiner’s homicide ruling describes the manner of death and does not establish criminal responsibility. As the case developed, authorities had therefore reached an important forensic conclusion while still leaving the central question of who killed Poche unresolved in the publicly available record.

Additional details supplied by Poche’s family raised questions about the account given before deputies discovered his body. His mother, Angela Long, told the San Antonio Express-News that Brown called her on the morning of July 26 and said Poche had disappeared. Long said Brown told her that Poche had hurt himself and left with some clothing, a backpack and keys. Long found parts of the account unusual because, she said, he had left other possessions behind that he regularly used. Brown also sent her photographs showing the condition of Poche’s room, Long said.

The Express-News reported that photographs it reviewed showed blood on Poche’s mattress and bedroom carpet. Long said the amount of blood she saw did not fit the explanation that her son had simply injured himself and walked away. Poche’s grandmother, Peggy Rowan, said Brown discussed cleaning the blood, and family members told her not to do so before law enforcement had seen the scene. Long said she urged Brown to call authorities and report Poche missing. Brown ultimately made the missing-person report that afternoon, bringing the deputy to the house where Poche was found.

For Poche’s relatives, the homicide investigation also concerns a man who had arrived in San Antonio only recently. His mother said he had moved from Oregon while looking for work and more stable housing. Brown, whom Long said Poche had known since their teenage years in Tehachapi, California, had helped connect him with the room he rented in San Antonio. Family members described Poche as someone who enjoyed skateboarding, bike riding, video games, tattooing and animals. He had two daughters, ages 7 and 11, who live with relatives in California.

Long said Poche stayed in regular contact with her despite the distance between Texas and California. He called about once a week while trying to establish himself in San Antonio, she told the newspaper. That made the July 26 call from Brown especially alarming because Long was accustomed to hearing from her son directly. By the end of that same day, instead of receiving word that Poche had been located safely, the family was notified that deputies had found a body in the home where he had been living. Authorities subsequently confirmed the body was his.

The criminal cases against Brown and Henson remain distinct from the homicide determination. They were accused of interfering with physical evidence based on investigators’ allegations about an attempted cleanup. Public reports said each initially had a $100,000 bond. Later reporting said both had been released on bond. Brown declined to comment when contacted by the Express-News. No publicly reported finding establishes that either defendant caused Poche’s fatal injuries, and the evidence-tampering charges should not be read as proof of responsibility for his death.

Several questions therefore remain central to the investigation: what happened inside the residence before the missing-person call, who inflicted Poche’s injuries and what evidence investigators recovered from the primary scene and the second residence. Authorities have not publicly laid out a full chronology of Poche’s final hours or announced a motive. The early claim that he had left the home after a night terror stands in contrast with the later discovery that his body was still inside the residence, but investigators have not publicly explained every person’s actions during that period.

Poche’s family, meanwhile, has been focused on returning his remains to California and supporting the two daughters he left behind. His mother told the Express-News that he had come to San Antonio seeking a new start and stable work. The medical examiner’s homicide ruling has answered how authorities classify his death, but it has not answered who is criminally responsible. As of the latest reporting reviewed, Brown and Henson face evidence-tampering allegations while the investigation into Poche’s killing remains unresolved publicly.

Author note: Last updated August 28, 2026.