Gruesome new details have emerged about the death of a 27-year-old woman who police say was brutally beaten to death with a fire extinguisher before her body was dumped in an alley behind an abandoned cinema.
Dino Rojas-Moreno, 26, was charged Friday with the murder of Tatum Goodwin, whose severely beaten body was found by a construction worker on Nov. 12 near the Carmelita’s restaurant in Laguna Beach where she worked.
“His body was under a chain link fence at a construction site and a sandbag had been placed over his head,” prosecutors revealed in a new court filing obtained by KTLA.
Rojas-Moreno, who was arrested in Laguna Hills on Wednesday in connection with the murder, worked as a waiter at the nearby Royal Hawaiian Fire Grill, according to the Orange County Register.
Rojas-Moreno has been accused of using a fire extinguisher as a weapon in Goodwin’s murder, which he allegedly did “in the commission and attempted commission of the crime of kidnapping,” according to Friday’s filing in Superior Court. Orange.
Tatum Goodwin, 27, was found dead by a construction worker in an alley in Laguna Beach, California, on November 12. Instagram/Orange County Fashion Week
According to the record, Rojas-Moreno first approached Goodwin in a parking lot around 1 a.m. and assaulted her near her parked car.
“Rojas-Moreno then forcefully dragged her to the back of the parking lot, down a short alley and to a secluded area behind a movie theater that was under construction,” prosecutors said, which is where the savage beating allegedly took place.
Later that day, when Rojas-Moreno didn’t show up for work, he claimed two men had “assaulted” him in Santa Ana, prosecutors said.
While the two worked in restaurants in the same city, it is unclear if Rojas-Moreno and Goodwin knew each other.
Dino Rojas-Moreno, 26, was arrested in Laguna Hills, California, on Wednesday on a charge of murder. Goodwin’s battered body was discovered by a construction worker behind a former movie theater and the restaurant where he worked. KTLA
Orange County Prosecutor Todd Spitzer called the cruel murder “a travesty for the entire community.”
“It is heartbreaking that a young woman with her entire future ahead of her would have her life ended in such a brutal way and then be discarded as if her life never mattered. “She mattered and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office is committed to ensuring justice is served.”
The suspect’s arrest coincided with a vigil for Goodwin, which was held Wednesday night in his hometown of San Clemente and attended by hundreds of family and friends.
“The hardest part is that she was alone fighting for her life,” Goodwin’s mother, Stacy Goodwin-Pitino, told KTLA. “You are helpless. You can not do anything”.
Her grieving sister Kaylee Goodwin expressed her regret at not being with Tatum to keep her safe.
Goodwin had worked as an assistant manager at Carmelita’s restaurant for more than 4 years. Instagram / Tatum Goodwin A vigil was held for Goodwin on Wednesday in her hometown of San Clemente. Instagram/Kirra Kelsey
“I wasn’t there to protect her,” he said through tears at the vigil. “She didn’t deserve this.”
Rojas-Moreno will be arraigned on Monday. He is being held without bail.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn