The San Diego Police Department’s investigation began after an anonymous tip in the earliest minutes of Monday, January 19, 2026. A caller reported seeing two people lying on the street in the 100 block of 27th Street near the intersection of Imperial Avenue in the Grant Hill neighborhood, noting that one appeared to be bleeding.
Officers responded at approximately 12:26 a.m. and discovered a man and a woman with fatal gunshot wounds on the roadway. Shell casings were observed at the scene, and despite officers administering CPR, both victims were pronounced dead.
In a deeply tragic detail discovered during the initial response, officers looked inside a vehicle parked near the victims and found three very young children, all under the age of two, seemingly unharmed inside. The toddlers were immediately taken into protective custody by authorities. It was later confirmed that the children belonged to the female victim, 28-year-old Evelyn Virgen. The male victim was identified as 31-year-old Ruben Chavez, who was in a dating relationship with Virgen.
Police quickly identified a motive rooted in a personal dispute. Investigators stated the two victims had been involved in an ongoing conflict with Chavez’s ex-girlfriend, 25-year-old Princess Perez, and her current boyfriend, 21-year-old Ramses “Rex” Morales.
Court documents revealed a specific point of contention: Chavez had recently filed for joint custody of the two young children he shared with Perez. The ex-couple had a scheduled custody hearing set for July, and while Perez had primary custody, Chavez was permitted supervised visits.
The investigation moved rapidly following the crime scene processing. Perez and Morales were known to have been in the area around the time of the shooting but departed before police arrived. Roughly ten hours after the murders, the two suspects were detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry as they attempted to cross into San Diego. They were interviewed by homicide detectives and subsequently placed under arrest, each charged with two counts of murder.
The incident sent shockwaves through the Grant Hill community, with neighbors reporting they heard gunshots in the early morning hours. The discovery of the unharmed toddlers in such close proximity to the violence added a profound layer of tragedy to the case. Authorities have clarified that the two children shared by Chavez and Perez were not among the three found at the scene.
The San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit continues its investigation into the double murder. Authorities are urging anyone with additional information to come forward and can contact the Homicide Unit directly or provide an anonymous tip through San Diego County Crime Stoppers.