Arroyo Grande man suspected of killing Kristen Marti booked into SLO County Jail

The Arroyo Grande man suspected of killing Kristen Marti was booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail on Thursday night.

Robert Koehler, 36, of Arroyo Grande became a jail inmate about 9 p.m., after he was brought back to California from Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he was arrested on May 16.

San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow charged Koehler with Marti's murder, which the complaint claims he committed on Jan. 9 with a knife.

Marti, 26, was reported missing on Jan. 18, after friends and family said she hadn't been in contact with them. Officials found her body in a creek in Prefumo Canyon during a large-scale search of the area on March 26.

Marti was last seen alive on Jan. 9 sitting with a man in a parked car on the 1800 block of Prefumo Canyon Road.

San Luis Obispo Police Chief Deanna Cantrell said in May police now believe Koehler was the man seen in the car with Marti.

The two did not have a prior relationship, according to Cantrell. Police know why they may have been in the car together, but Cantrell declined to disclose those details.

Police in April identified Koehler as a person of interest in Marti's death and asked the public for information regarding this activities during the week of Jan. 9.

While police were gathering evidence for an arrest, Koehler left the San Luis Obispo County region for unknown reasons on May 2.

After his May 16 arrest, Koehler was held in the Hennepin County Jail in Minnesota without bail pending his extradition to California.

Koehler will appear in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court on June 5, according to the county Sheriff's Office booking log.

This story was originally published June 1, 2018 at 9:24 AM with the headline "Arroyo Grande man suspected of killing Kristen Marti booked into SLO County Jail."