A suspect is in custody in connection with the Oct. 4 slaying of a Santee woman, officials are reporting Monday.
Detectives with the sheriff’s homicide detail have arrested San Diego resident Jose Luis Nunez-Torres, 21, on suspicion of murder in the death of Leticia Arroyo, 34, according to a San Diego County Sheriff’s Department news release.
At the time of his arrest, Nunez-Torres was already in custody at the San Diego Central Jail on charges unrelated to the Arroyo investigation, the news release stated. He is now being re-booked on a single count of murder, according to the release stated.
Detectives are still looking for a possible second suspect in the case, the release continued.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office identified Arroyo as the victim days after her body was discovered inside her town home by a roommate.
The roommate called 911 and told dispatchers Arroyo was unconscious and had suffered some type of trauma to her upper body. Deputies and paramedics were sent to the home at 8837 Mission Greens Road where they found Arroyo dead.
“Based on the circumstances surrounding the incident, detectives are investigating the case as a possible homicide,” sheriff’s Lt. Kenneth Nelson said at the time of the initial investigation. Arroyo’s cause-of-death ruling was being withheld because of the ongoing investigation, according to the lieutenant.
Deputies interviewed witnesses and obtained a warrant to search the town home, Nelson told reporters. A neighbor, who did not give his name, told NBC 7 he heard a bang that sounded like a firecracker around 8:15 p.m., then saw a man leaving the victim’s home.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the sheriff’s department at (858) 974-2321 or after business hours at (858) 565-5200. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
