Saturday, May 5, 2012

Body of missing Orange County, Calif., mother turns up at Los Angeles morgue - LATimes

Arlet Hernandez ContrerasThe body of 31-year-old Arlet Hernandez Contreras, who investigators suspected was killed along with her two sons at an Orange County apartment complex, has been found at the Los Angeles County morgue.

Homicide detectives contacted various coroner offices, asking if they had any unidentified female bodies, said Orange Police Sgt. Dan Adams.  The Los Angeles County coroner's office responded, indicating it had a woman who appeared to have been stabbed to death. The case was being investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

"Last night, it was confirmed that female's body is our adult victim," Adams said Saturday. 

The body was found April 25 in the city of La Puente, Adams said.

So far, the bodies of Contreras' two children, a 4-month-old and a 2-year-old, have not been found.

Shazer Fernando Limas, 31, was arrested late Thursday after a long police chase and standoff that closed Interstate 5 in northern San Diego County near the San Onofre nuclear plant.

Authorities began searching for Limas after managers found blood and other evidence at an apartment in Orange that he moved out of last month. 

Trash from the apartment complex is dumped at a Brea landfill, which police searched Thursday night and early Friday. 

"We wanted to check it in the event he had discarded the bodies," Adams said.

Evidence suggests that the three were killed inside the apartment, possibly a week ago, police said.

Police said Limas, Hernandez and the children had shared the unit.

Neighbors, who asked not to be identified, said they heard loud music coming from the apartment between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on the night the killings are thought to have occurred. They described Limas as "odd" and "not approachable."

Limas was arrested after a police spike strip disabled his car near the nuclear plant. He surrendered unarmed after an hourlong standoff.

Limas was booked on suspicion of murder.

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-Ruben Vives

twittercom/latvives

 Photo: Arlet Hernandez Contreras Credit: Orange Police Department

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