By Robert Morales —
William Vieira leads law enforcement officials to burial site; waiting on DNA results of skeletal remains
In late September, a cold case involving the disappearance of Wolf Creek resident Todd Alan Cameron was activated when William Vieira, 31, Van Horn, was arrested by Culberson County Sheriff Oscar Carrillo, Constable Bruce Jackson and Texas Ranger Robert Losoya. Vieira was on felony probation warrants from Texas and Illinois.
Veiira had been in the Culberson County Jail for about three weeks after being arrested on probation violations. He has since been transferred to the Hudspeth County Jail.
According to Mr. Carrillo, Cameron's family members had long suspected Mr. Vieira as a possible suspect in the disappearance of Mr. Cameron. Since 2000 when Mr. Cameron went missing, Mr. Vieira allegedly confided in telling various persons bits and pieces about a murder at Wolf Creek.
At the time of Mr. Cameron's disappearance, Mr. Vieira lived on a 10-acre lot in Wolf Creek. Mr. Vieira built an outhouse where the remains were recently unearthed. Mr. Carrillo said that the remains were buried in a shallow grave, about one and one-half feet in depth. Mr. Vieira had previously taken a Texas Ranger to Wolf Creek, but Mr. Vieira purposely failed to disclose the exact location.
Following a standard interrogation with Mr. Carrillo, Mr. Vieira led Mr. Carrillo to the exact location of the burial site. Over the years, Mr. Vieira had poured dry cement into the outhouse to help cover up the shallow grave when it rained.
Mr. Carrillo said that if a person had wondered accidentally onto Mr. Vieira's property, it wouldn't have been difficult to see the shack on the property. Law enforcement officials believe Mr. Vieira built the outhouse to divert attention from the burial site.
“We would never have found [the remains] had he not taken us out there,” said Mr. Carrillo. “We had been following up on his little stories and we'd been to Wolf Creek on a number of occasions.” Mr. Carrillo added that once Mr. Vieira knew he had probably spilled too much information, he volunteered to take Mr. Carrillo to the exact location.
It is important to note that Mr. Vieira remains a suspect in the death of Mr. Cameron until (1) DNA evidence positively confirms that the remains are indeed those of Mr. Cameron and until (2) the district attorney makes a determination as whether the eveidence is strong enough to file homicide charges againstMr. Vieira. told Mr. Carrillo that he had shot Mr. Cameron in 2000 for a variety of reasons.
Those reasons will take on greater significance if he is charged.
