SAN ANTONIO – What began as a chilling confession from a father to his son has escalated into a formal murder charge.

Charles Byrd, 49, was formally charged with murder Wednesday in connection with the death of his wife, Angela Byrd, after investigators found her decomposing remains wrapped in plastic and carpet inside their rural trailer home in Far South Bexar County. Byrd had previously been arrested on charges of tampering with evidence and tampering with a human corpse.

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The case, detailed in an extensive arrest report, began to unfold late on the night of July 18, when Byrd’s adult son, Jared Byrd, contacted authorities with a harrowing story: his father had just told him, “I killed her.”

That confession set off a multiday manhunt and forensic investigation across multiple rural addresses. By July 20, Charles Byrd was found hiding inside a friend’s residence less than a mile from the family’s property on Pleasanton Road — and not far from where authorities located Byrd’s black pickup truck under a tarp behind a metal shed. His arrest brought to a close an intense search that drew SWAT teams, aerial surveillance, and GPS tracking through Bosch Security Systems.

At the center of the investigation: the body of Angela Byrd, 44, discovered by Bexar County Sheriff’s deputies in a single-wide trailer wrapped in black plastic, carpet, blankets, and ratchet straps. When officers arrived to talk with Jared Byrd and look into the trailer, the odor of decomposition led investigators to the makeshift burial inside the home she shared with her husband.

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According to statements given by Jared Byrd, Charles had been reclusive since mid-June (Father’s Day), which was around the last time Jared saw his stepmother alive. During a recorded interview with investigators, Charles Byrd confessed to choking Angela during an argument on June 16, claiming she had been expecting another man at the home. He told authorities he watched her die and, fearing the consequences, spent the next month concealing her remains.

The body, investigators say, had been hidden for 32 days. A forensic autopsy revealed extensive decomposition, including what the medical examiner described as “near decapitation” due to the effects of time and decomposition. Despite this, the death was ruled a homicide caused by “homicidal violence with possible asphyxia,” according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Byrd’s alleged confession included disturbing details: He attempted to mask the crime by cleaning the scene, wrapping Angela’s body, and disposing of fluids and other evidence. He also told authorities he had destroyed his cell phone and stashed Angela’s phone, though it has not yet been recovered.

Adding complexity to the case, Byrd was found hiding at the home of a friend, Lonnie Williamson, who initially denied knowing his whereabouts. Williamson later admitted that Charles had arrived at his door the morning after the initial confession, saying, “I murdered my wife.” According to Williamson, Byrd stayed hidden inside his home while deputies scoured the neighborhood.

Authorities recovered multiple items of evidence at both the crime scene and the property where Byrd was found, including a Glock 9mm handgun, cleaning materials, and handwritten notes. Byrd also allegedly told Williamson that he would “kill again if necessary.”

Byrd was booked on tampering charges following his arrest. This week, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office upgraded the charges to include murder, following confirmation of Angela Byrd’s identity and the ruling on her cause of death.

He remains in custody on a combined bond of $650,000.

The investigation remains ongoing.