Good morning, Glen. Currently, a man is being held by the police after the discovery of a woman’s body in the trunk of a car in Huntington Beach. Our reporter, Alina Abovian, is live at the scene with more information.
We are now learning new details about the suspect and his connection to the neighborhood. The suspect’s adoptive parents reside in the green house behind me, located at the 17,000 block of From Elaine.
Just a few days ago, the suspect traveled from Arizona to this address. We spoke to the woman who resides there, and it turns out she is the mother of Richard Paul Rodriguez, a 34-year-old from Holbrook, Arizona, who has been named as a suspect in this case.
The police department in Holbrook had previously issued a bulletin regarding a missing female, with Rodriguez identified as the suspect in her disappearance. The identity of the woman mentioned in the bulletin matches the one whose body was found in the trunk of the car in Huntington Beach. However, the police have not confirmed the connection between the bulletin and the body.
Additionally, the bulletin included a photo of a stolen red sedan, which matches the description of the vehicle in which the woman’s body was discovered. This bulletin was released a few days ago.
According to the suspect’s mother, her son drove from Arizona to Huntington Beach. Fast-forwarding to yesterday, around 5 o’clock in the evening, the Huntington Beach Police Department received a call regarding a family disturbance. The exact details of what prompted the call are unknown.
When officers arrived at the scene, they secured the area and found the woman’s body in the trunk of the vehicle. The suspect, 34-year-old Richard Paul Rodriguez, was taken into custody.
While there were no obvious signs of trauma on the woman’s body, the police have classified her death as suspicious. This neighborhood is known for its close-knit community, and it is unimaginable what it must be going through after such a terrible incident of murder..
