The new charge comes more than two years after Rangel disappeared and was later found dead in a Southeast Austin greenbelt.
AUSTIN, TX — A second woman has been arrested in connection with the investigation into the 2024 death of 24-year-old Cristian Rangel, marking a new development in a homicide case that has remained open for more than two years.
Xzaria White-Wooldridge was arrested Sept. 11 on a felony charge tied to alleged witness tampering in the case, according to local reports citing court records. The charge does not accuse White-Wooldridge of killing Rangel, and authorities have not announced a murder charge against anyone in his death.
Rangel disappeared April 8, 2024, after he was seen at a Walmart at 5017 W. U.S. 290 in southwest Austin. His girlfriend reported him missing the following day. Surveillance video reviewed during the investigation showed Rangel getting into a light-colored SUV in the Walmart parking lot. Police later released additional video as they sought witnesses who could help explain what happened after Rangel entered the vehicle.
Eleven days after Rangel disappeared, Austin police responded to the 5800 block of Spring Meadow Drive in Southeast Austin after a body was found in a greenbelt. The remains were later identified as Rangel. Police said an examination completed in July 2024 found injuries consistent with an assault, and investigators treated his death as a homicide.
Kamery Wooldridge was the first person charged in connection with the case. Investigators said she disposed of Rangel’s body in the greenbelt. She was charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair a human corpse, a second-degree felony. She later pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced in October 2025 to 10 years in prison.
The latest arrest expands the investigation beyond the earlier corpse-tampering case. Reports citing court affidavits say investigators used cellphone records and other evidence while examining White-Wooldridge’s actions after Rangel disappeared. Investigators allege she was with Kamery Wooldridge after the events surrounding Rangel’s disappearance and later assisted with conduct intended to conceal or alter evidence. Those allegations have not been proven in court.
Despite the two arrests connected to the case, neither woman has been charged with Rangel’s homicide. Police have previously said they were trying to determine what happened between the time Rangel entered the SUV at Walmart and the time his body was left in the Southeast Austin greenbelt. The condition of his remains complicated investigators’ efforts to establish precisely what happened to him.
Rangel’s family has continued to seek information that could lead investigators to whoever was responsible for his death. After Kamery Wooldridge pleaded guilty in 2025, Rangel’s mother, Misty Moon, said the family viewed the plea as a step toward accountability but would continue seeking answers and a murder charge.
The Austin Police Department has previously described the homicide investigation as open and active. The new arrest adds another criminal allegation connected to the case, but the central question of who killed Rangel remains unresolved. Authorities have not announced that White-Wooldridge’s arrest has resulted in a homicide charge or identified a person charged with Rangel’s killing.
Author note: Last updated September 12, 2026.