Missing Oxnard Woman's Body Found In Santa Barbara County; Ex-Husband Josefino Maldonado Arrested For Her Murder
SANTA BARBARA (CBSLA) — The body of an Oxnard woman who went missing last Saturday under suspicious circumstances was found near the 101 Freeway in Santa Barbara County, and her ex-husband has been arrested for her murder, police said Friday.
Oxnard police say Josefino Cayetano Maldonado, 41, confessed to killing his wife in an unincorporated area of Ventura County, but went into Santa Barbara County to dispose of her body. The body of 46-year-old Eudelia Gonzalez Rojas was found down an embankment along the 101 Freeway, north of the Gaviota Tunnel.
Rojas was last seen last Saturday night getting into a car with an unknown person and driving away from her home. When she didn't return, family members started calling her and became concerned that she was not answering, police said. She was eventually reported missing the next day.
Due to the suspicious nature of Rojas' disappearance, Oxnard police detectives served a search warrant on a Maldonado's home in Salinas on Thursday. Police say they were interviewing him when he confessed to his ex-wife's murder.
Maldonado has been arrested on suspicion of murder and is being held on $500,000.
The investigation into Rojas' murder remains under investigation. Anyone with information about Rojas, Maldonado or the murder can contact Detective Chip Butell at (805) 385-7688 or Detective Michael McManama at (805) 385-7662.