A man and woman faced a judge this week in connection with a predawn street shooting that killed a couple in San Diego’s Grant Hill neighborhood while three children sat in a nearby minivan, authorities said. Investigators allege Princess Garcia Perez, 25, recruited her new boyfriend, 21-year-old Ramses “Rex” Morales, to ambush her ex-boyfriend, Ruben Chavez, 31, and his girlfriend, Evelyn Virgen, 28, during an ongoing custody dispute.
The case has moved quickly since officers found Chavez and Virgen fatally wounded on the 100 block of 27th Street just after midnight on Jan. 19. Detectives say the slayings were deliberate and tied to family tensions that spilled into violence. Morales is charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances of multiple victims and three counts of child endangerment; Perez is charged as an accessory after the fact. Both pleaded not guilty in Superior Court and are being held without bail. Prosecutors said they are weighing whether to seek the death penalty if special-circumstance allegations are proved. Relatives of the victims say nine children in the two families are now coping with the loss.
Police were dispatched at about 12:26 a.m. Jan. 19 after an anonymous caller reported two people lying in the street. Officers arrived to find a man and woman who had suffered “homicidal violence” and could not be saved. Nearby, they saw three small children — all younger than two — inside a parked minivan believed to belong to Virgen. The children appeared unharmed and were placed in protective custody. Detectives canvassed the block through the night, collected shell casings and photographed a broad scene stretching from the curb into the roadway. In a brief summary read in court, a prosecutor alleged Morales used a shotgun at close range. “This is a terrible situation that involves a complicated family dynamic,” an assistant district attorney said, noting the number of children affected.
Investigators say Perez and Chavez were in a dispute over custody arrangements for two of the children. Court records reviewed by reporters indicate Chavez had supervised visits and was seeking joint custody at the time he was killed. Prosecutors allege Perez drove Morales to the Grant Hill location for the confrontation and, after the shooting, drove him south to the border. Customs officers detained the pair late the same morning as they attempted to reenter the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Detectives from the Homicide Unit interviewed the suspects, took them into custody and booked them into county jail later that day. Authorities have not publicly described a specific meeting arranged between the couples or said whether there was contact by phone or text beforehand.
Charging documents outline the counts against Morales: two murders with the special circumstance of multiple victims and three child-endangerment counts tied to the toddlers found at the scene. Prosecutors said the special-circumstance allegation makes the case eligible for capital punishment or life without parole, pending a review by the district attorney. Perez is charged as an accessory to both murders; investigators said additional counts remain possible as evidence is analyzed. Detectives have requested forensic testing on ballistic evidence and are seeking additional surveillance video from homes and businesses near the block where the shootings occurred. Officials have not announced the recovery of a weapon beyond the allegation that a shotgun was used.
Friends and family members described Chavez and Virgen as devoted parents trying to build a blended household. A cousin wrote that the pair left behind nine children, including a 3-month-old boy who was among the three youngsters in the vehicle that night. Neighbors told local reporters they awoke to sirens and saw police tape spanning the street while investigators used flashlights to search front yards and porches. Residents said the Grant Hill area has seen sporadic overnight crime but that the sight of toddlers steps from a double homicide was jolting. Several bystanders watched as officers covered the bodies, then moved to comfort the children before paramedics and child-welfare workers arrived.
Grant Hill sits just east of downtown and is lined with older homes, small apartment buildings and narrow streets that feed into major corridors. Investigators believe the couples knew each other and that the dispute was personal rather than random. Police did not announce any broader threat to the neighborhood after the arrests. The children found at the scene were later placed with relatives as social workers coordinated care. Court officials said interpreters were present at the defendants’ first appearances; defense lawyers entered not-guilty pleas and reserved argument on future bail and evidentiary issues. The judge ordered both defendants held without bail pending further proceedings.
With the suspects in custody, the legal process turns to discovery and early motions. A preliminary hearing date had not been publicly set as of Saturday, but prosecutors said they will begin turning over reports, body-camera footage summaries and lab requests to the defense. If a judge finds probable cause at a preliminary hearing, the case would advance to trial track on the special-circumstance counts. Prosecutors said the death-penalty review involves multiple offices and can take weeks. Separately, child-welfare authorities will continue placement reviews for the three toddlers found at the scene and for other children connected to the families.
On the block where the shooting took place, residents described a quiet stretch that turns still after midnight. One man said he saw a vehicle idling with doors open and heard “two blasts” before silence. Another neighbor recalled officers peering into a minivan and then rushing to shield small faces as more units arrived. A relative who came to the courthouse said the families are focused on funeral plans and on the nine children who “lost parents in a single night.” A community organizer who lives nearby said neighbors plan to deliver meals and help with childcare in coming days while the families navigate court dates and services.
Investigators say they continue to map movements before and after the shooting, including travel to the border. Detectives are combing through phone records, license-plate-reader hits and any surveillance along the routes between Grant Hill and the San Ysidro crossing. Officials said they expect to release additional summaries as lab work on ballistics and trace evidence is completed. The district attorney’s office said it will announce any decision on seeking capital punishment closer to a preliminary hearing once internal review is finished.
As of Saturday evening, both defendants remained jailed without bail. The next milestone is the setting of a preliminary hearing in Superior Court and the release of additional forensic findings. Officials said further updates will appear in routine court filings as the investigation continues.
Author note: Last updated January 24, 2026.