A Costa Mesa man was arrested Tuesday evening on suspicion of murdering his girlfriend and dumping her body in a trash can near his home, authorities said.
Daniel Allen Aldrich, 49, was arrested in Glendale in connection with the death of Julie Anne Sanetra, 38, of Irvine, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.
According to the department, police received a call around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday about a dead woman found in the backyard of a home in the 1900 block of Maple Avenue in Costa Mesa.
Officers found the victim’s body and launched an investigation, identifying Aldrich as a suspect and tracking him down in Glendale, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department. Assisted by the Glendale Police Department, they arrested Aldrich later that evening at a family member’s house at the 3700 block of El Lado Drive.
The allegations have rattled Alrich’s neighbors in his residential Costa Mesa community.
“It’s quiet [here]. Everybody is nice, and this is a big deal,” resident Metinee Farley told OnScene TV. “This is very scary.”
Another neighbor, who identified herself to OnScene only as Sherri, said the neighborhood had never had “any type of violence or anything like that, any disturbance.”
She said the suspect had recently moved into the area after a young couple sold the house a few months ago.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Detective K. Moore at (714) 754-4986.
