Man kills girlfriend and leaves body on couch as he watches TV, California officials say
A man accused of killing his girlfriend and leaving her body on the couch as he watched television has been charged, California prosecutors say.
Daniel Allen Aldrich, 49, of Costa Mesa, was charged with murder in the death of Julie Anne Sanetra, 38, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in an Oct. 28 news release.
“Julie Sanetra did not deserve to be strangled and stuffed into a trashcan like a piece of garbage,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in the release. “The callousness of this crime shocks the conscience, and we will do everything to get justice for Julie and her loved ones.”
The pair had got into an argument after “a night of drinking,” then Aldrich strangled Sanetra and slit “her wrist with a folding knife” Sunday, Oct. 20, prosecutors said.
Afterward, he is accused of leaving her body on the couch as he watched television and then going to bed, prosecutors said.
“The next day, Aldrich is accused of dragging Sanetra’s body outside and stuffing her body inside of a trash can, on the side of the house,” prosecutors said.
Aldrich went back inside his home, packed a bag and drove about 50 miles to his mother’s Glendale home, prosecutors said.
Landscapers, who were hired to mow the home’s lawn, found Sanetra’s body partially outside the trash can the next day and called Costa Mesa police, prosecutors said.
“It’s a nice residential area,” Deputy Chief Joyce LaPointe told KABC. “This is something that we don’t see very often here.”
Aldrich was arrested the same day in Glendale, Costa Mesa police said, McClatchy News previously reported.
Aldrich, who is being held on $1 million bail, is expected to appear in court on Nov. 19, prosecutors said.
If convicted as charged, he could potentially face a 26 years to life sentence, according to prosecutors.
Costa Mesa is about a 40-mile drive southeast from Los Angeles.
This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 11:38 AM with the headline "Man kills girlfriend and leaves body on couch as he watches TV, California officials say."
