A Garden Grove woman was found dead inside a home Wednesday night, Jan. 7, and a man with whom she previously had been in a relationship was arrested hours later on suspicion of murder, police said.
Officers responded just before 8 p.m. to a residence in the 10400 block of Lampson Avenue after roommates found the woman unresponsive in her bedroom and called 911, according to the Garden Grove Police Department. The officers determined that the woman’s death did not appear to be from natural causes.
Earlier that evening, Garden Grove police had been contacted by the Santa Ana Police Department, which was investigating a possible missing-person case after the woman failed to report to work, police said.
During the investigation, police learned the woman had a restraining order against a man identified as Rafael Arechiga. While the current status of their relationship was unclear, prior police reports listed the two as being in a relationship and involving previous domestic incidents, police said.
Detectives canvassing the neighborhood learned Arechiga had been seen at the residence earlier in the day. Police located a vehicle description and license plate associated with him from a previous call for service.
At around 12:45 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, Garden Grove officers located Arechiga’s vehicle near Brookhurst Street and Chapman Avenue, police said.
Arechiga was later arrested and booked into Orange County Jail on suspicion of murder.
The case remains under investigation, and no further details were immediately available. Anyone with information is asked to contact Garden Grove police Detective Camara at 714-741-5824.