Body found in Williamson County identified as missing Austin man, police say

Austin police
Austin police

Police on Friday confirmed that a body found Thursday morning in Williamson County was that of a 34-year-old Austin man, Justin Haden, who has not been seen since Nov. 1.

Haden was identified through fingerprints, a police press release said. The Travis County medical examiner's office will determine the cause of his death, the release said.

Another man, Gavin Roberts, 26, was charged with tampering with physical evidence of a human corpse in connection with the case, officials said Thursday. They said he was arrested in Colorado on Nov. 23.

Haden's body was found near Ronald Reagan Boulevard and Interstate 35, Austin police said Thursday.

Gavin Roberts has been charged with tampering with physical evidence with a human corpse.
Gavin Roberts has been charged with tampering with physical evidence with a human corpse.

"Roberts is alleged to have knowingly removed a deceased body from an apartment complex in the 3000 block Esperanza (Crossing) on Nov. 1," according to a news release from the U.S. marshal's office.

Justin Haden of Austin has been missing since Nov. 1. Police have identified a body found Thursday in Williamson County as his.
Justin Haden of Austin has been missing since Nov. 1. Police have identified a body found Thursday in Williamson County as his.

Members of the U.S. Marshals Service's Violent Offender Task Force arrested Roberts outside a residence in the 9500 block of Pecos Street in Thornton, Colo., on Nov. 23, the release said. It said Roberts was booked into the Denver Detention Center, where he will await judicial proceedings and extradition back to Texas.

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Police were first notified Nov. 4 about Haden's disappearance when Haden's lawyer called officers asking them to check on Haden because his family had not heard from him in three days, according to an arrest affidavit.

Haden lived alone in an apartment in the Domain, was not suicidal and did not own a car, the affidavit said. It said police went to the apartment that day and found it empty with what appeared to be wine stains by a bed. Haden's father then called police Nov. 7 to report his son missing, the document said. His father is the executor of a trust fund for Haden and said he managed Haden's bank account and cellphone account, police said.

Haden's father said he and Haden's mother typically communicated with Haden several times a day but had not heard from him since Oct. 26, the affidavit said. Police returned to Haden's apartment Nov. 9 and turned down the sheets on a bed and found bloodstains on the mattress, according to the affidavit. A detective also thought the stains on the wall initially suspected to be wine stains could instead be blood stains, police said.

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A woman approached police when they were at Haden's apartment on Nov. 9 and told them she had called 911 on Nov. 1 after she heard a man in the hallway screaming, "Oh my God!" the affidavit said.

It said police had responded to that 911 call on Nov. 1 but couldn't find anyone involved in the disturbance.

When police later started examining Haden's phone records, they found several text messages between him and Roberts on Oct. 31, the affidavit said. Investigators also found a bag from a Whole Foods grocery store in Haden's apartment with an Oct. 31 receipt, the document said. It said surveillance video from the Whole Foods showed Haden and a man later identified as Roberts at the store on Oct. 31.

Video from Haden's apartment complex also showed Haden and Roberts leaving the complex at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 31 in Halloween costumes and then returning at 12:45 a.m. Nov. 1, the affidavit said. It said video from the complex also showed a man wearing a hoodie and a mask leaving at 3 p.m. Nov. 1 with two large plastic trash bags in his hand.

"The man also appears to be aware of the overhead surveillance camera in the hallway and goes to great lengths to conceal his identity and to keep his head down and his face away from the camera," the affidavit said.

At 3:07 p.m. Nov. 1, the same man is seen walking from the apartment complex's garage to one of the entry doors of Haden's apartment, according to the document. It then said the man is seen at 5 p.m. leaving the complex dragging a large plastic blue tote bin with what appears to be a suitcase on top of it. The man seems to be struggling to drag the tote "that appears to be very heavy," the affidavit said.

It said video later showed the man without his hoodie, and police were able to identify him as Roberts. Video also showed the blue tote inside the trunk of Roberts' car in the garage, according to the affidavit.

Roberts initially told a detective on Nov. 9 that he had last spoken to Haden on Nov. 1 and had gone to Haden's apartment to drop off a set of chef's knives, police said. Roberts said Haden was planning a trip to Las Vegas and was probably already there, the affidavit said.

On Nov. 18, Roberts called police saying he had seen a picture of himself on the news on television and wanted to talk to detectives, according to the affidavit.

It said Roberts told detectives he drove back to Colorado on Nov. 15. Roberts said he knew Haden, had gone to Whole Foods with him on Oct. 31 and worn Halloween costumes with Haden to go to a bar in the Domain, the affidavit said.

Roberts said he and Haden returned to Haden's apartment on Nov. 1 and spent the night there, according to the affidavit. He also said he had dragged a heavy plastic tote from Haden's apartment and put it in the trunk of his car on Nov. 1, police said. Roberts said he dropped the plastic tote off at a friend's house but later picked it up and moved it to Colorado, the affidavit said.

Roberts also said he didn't know where Haden was and didn't know of any altercation in Haden's apartment, police said. Roberts could not explain why he was seen on the apartment surveillance wearing white latex gloves while taking out the plastic tote, according to the affidavit.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Police say body found in Williamson County is missing Austin man