Woman found dead in car trunk after cops respond to ‘disturbance’ call, CA police say

UPDATE: The woman has been identified as Christi Lynn Romero, 54, according to the Holbrook Police Department. Richard Paul Rodriguez is accused of driving from Arizona to his parents’ home in California with her body in the car’s trunk, McClatchy News reported.

The original story is below.

A dead woman was found in a car’s trunk after police responded to a “family disturbance” call, California police said.

On Nov. 6, Huntington Beach police went to a home where the “disturbance” was reported, according to a Nov. 7 Facebook post by the department.

After arriving, officers found a dead woman in the trunk of a car, Jessica Cuchilla, a spokesperson for the police department, told McClatchy News in a statement.

Officers said the woman died “under suspicious circumstances.”

Detectives with the department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit arrived along with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Coroner Division and Crime Lab, police said.

After conducting interviews and gathering evidence, police arrested Richard Paul Rodriguez, 34, of Holbrook, Arizona, police said.

Rodriguez was booked on one count of murder, police said.

Police didn’t specify if Rodriguez knew the woman. They said they would not identify her until her family is notified.

Officers said the investigation is ongoing and ask anyone with information to call 714-960-8848, according to the release.

Huntington Beach is about 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published November 7, 2023 at 10:18 AM with the headline "Woman found dead in car trunk after cops respond to ‘disturbance’ call, CA police say."