Heritage Ranch man killed pregnant girlfriend, unborn baby, SLO County sheriff says
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Original story:
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office says a man caught stealing a CHP vehicle on Sunday also allegedly killed his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn baby.
Daniel Raul Rodriguez Johnson, 31, of Heritage Ranch was accused on Monday of murdering 27-year-old Carrington Jane Broussard of Paso Robles on Sunday sometime before he was taken into custody for driving away in a CHP vehicle that had stopped to help him, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.
Broussard’s body was found by deputies responding to Rodriguez Johnson’s Heritage Ranch home after his arrest. An autopsy is underway, though preliminary evidence suggests she was stabbed, according to the news release.
Rodriguez Johnson and Broussard were not married but had been in a relationship for six years, Undersheriff Jim Voge said at a Monday news conference. They were living together at the home where her body was found, Voge said.
Broussard was nine months pregnant with the couple’s third child at the time of her death, Voge said. The baby did not survive.
Voge could not say how long Broussard had been dead before deputies found her.
“It’s my understanding that he drove around for a while, so it was several hours before we had contact with them,” Voge said.
The Sheriff’s Office said it does not have information on a possible motive at this time; the investigation is still ongoing.
Broussard’s family has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for her funeral expenses.
“Carrington was a caring, loving mother, daughter, sister, niece, cousin, aunt and friend,” the post says.
“Family was always first in Carrington’s eyes. She was a big-hearted person who always spoke truth and could put a smile on anyone’s face,” it continues. “She was a beautiful, outgoing soul taken way to soon, as well as her unborn son, who was full term.”
To donate, visit gofundme.com/carrington-broussard.
Stolen CHP car
Sunday’s incident began when California Highway Patrol officers responded to a disabled vehicle on Highway 46 West and York Mountain Road, the Sheriff’s Office said in a previous Tribune report.
As a CHP officer went to assist, Rodriguez Johnson got out of the vehicle and stole the patrol car, Undersheriff Jim Voge said at a Sunday afternoon news conference.
Two children were also in the car Rodriguez Johnson left behind — the couple’s 2-year-old and 4-year-old daughters, Voge said on Monday.
He was eventually stopped in the area north of Piedras Blancas Lighthouse. When deputies found him, Rodriguez Johnson allegedly brandished a knife from a kit in the CHP vehicle at the officers, according to a CHP news release on Monday.
The children have been placed with relatives for the time being, according to the news release.
New charges
Rodriguez Johnson was initially taken into custody on suspicion of eight charges, including driving under the influence, felony theft of a vehicle, grand theft of property and two counts of willful cruelty to a child, according to jail records.
He is being held in the San Luis Obispo County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
On Monday, the Sheriff’s Office said it would recommend additional double murder charges.
Rodriguez Johnson was previously an employee at Atascadero State Hospital, where he worked as a food service technician and custodian from December 2010 to November 2018.
He was twice convicted of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol — once in 2006 and again in November 2017, according to San Luis Obispo County Superior Court records.
This story was originally published March 4, 2019 at 3:53 PM.
