Driver had ex-girlfriend’s body in trunk as he drove to his parents’ home, AZ cops say
An Arizona man drove to his parents’ California home with his ex-girlfriend’s body in the trunk, police said.
On Nov. 6, officers responded to a mobile home in Holbrook after getting calls of a reported missing person, according to a Facebook post by the police department.
When they arrived, they noticed Christi Lynn Romero’s trailer had been broken into and her car was missing, police said. The 54-year-old wasn’t there either.
Police said they started looking for Romero’s ex-boyfriend, Richard Paul Rodriguez, 34.
On Nov. 2, Rodriguez was served with a restraining order and could no longer live in the trailer he shared with Romero, officers said.
After making calls to where Romero had been staying, police were told he hadn’t been around in days, the post said.
Through phone location data, police were able to see Rodriguez driving Romero’s car toward California, they said.
Surveillance cameras at a gas station about 45 miles southwest of Holbrook captured Rodriguez filling the car with gas before leaving, Holbrook Police Chief Nathan Christensen told KTVK/KPHO.
“In that surveillance video, you can see her car, you can see Richard, but you can’t see her in the car,” Christensen told the outlet.
Rodriguez had gone to his parents’ house in Huntington Beach, California, officials said.
Huntington Beach officers arrived at the scene and found a body in the trunk of the car, McClatchy News previously reported. The Orange County Coroner’s Office confirmed the body belonged to Romero, police said.
Rodriguez is in custody in California and was booked on a murder charge, police said.
Holbrook is about 180 miles northeast of Phoenix.
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