| For Immediate Release Case # 07NF0170
November 26, 2008 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
BOYFRIEND CONVICTED OF MURDERING GIRLFRIEND AND SETTING BODY ON FIRE TO DESTROY EVIDENCE
SANTA ANA – A boyfriend was convicted today of murdering his girlfriend and attempting to destroy her corpse by setting it on fire in a backyard metal trashcan. Jose Sauceda-Contreras, 30, Anaheim, was found guilty by a jury of one felony count of murder. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison at his sentencing on Jan. 16, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-30, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
On Jan. 10, 2007, Sauceda-Contreras suffocated and murdered his girlfriend, 35-year-old Martha Mendoza. At approximately 11:30 a.m., Sauceda-Contreras placed Mendoza’s body in a metal trash can in his backyard, poured gasoline over the victim, and lit the body on fire to destroy the evidence of his crime.
A neighbor called 9-1-1 after smelling an unusual burning odor and seeing Sauceda-Contreras over his backyard fence. When the Anaheim Fire Department arrived, Sauceda-Contreras insisted that the firefighters leave and physically resisted as they attempted to enter Sauceda-Contreras’ backyard to search for the origins and source of the fire. Firefighters discovered the victim’s body in the trashcan and contacted the Anaheim Police Department. The defendant told police officers that he had discovered his girlfriend dead that morning and decided to burn her body because she had previously told him that she wanted him to keep her ashes if she died.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Howard Gundy of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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