LOS ANGELES (CBS) -- A man has been charged with the murder of a Los Angeles woman whose body was found in the trunk of her car.
Police say the Los Angeles County district attorney's office filed murder charges Monday against Adel Chapel. The Santa Monica man is suspected of murdering 22-year-old Denise Figueroa shortly after she was reported missing late last month.
Police say the 24-year-old Chapel was already in custody on suspicion of carjacking and is under investigation for a series of violent crimes that occurred in the San Fernando Valley. Police say he had been in a relationship with Figueroa.
County coroner's Lt. Cheryl MacWillie said an autopsy on 22-year-old Denise Figueroa of Los Angeles will likely happen on Monday.
Figueroa's body was discovered Saturday in a Valley Village neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley soon after a TV news station received the faxed letter and notified police.
The sender described himself or herself only as "someone trying to help."
The sender wrote that Figueroa was killed Feb. 28 and her body was in a trash bag in a car. The letter also named a suspect in the killing and another man who helped the suspect clean the car.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
