Sheriff confirms human remains are missing California couple Jonathan Reynoso, Audrey Moran
10/16/2020 2:38 pm PDT
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. (TCD) --
The Riverside County Sheriff's Dept. announced Friday human remains located in an undisclosed area of Riverside County are confirmed as Audrey Moran and Jonathan Reynoso, who have been missing since May 2017.
The remains had been forwarded to the California Department of Justice for DNA analysis, and on Wednesday the results of the DNA analysis were received by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department-Central Homicide Unit, according to the department.
The sheriff's department said the investigation was ongoing, and did not release further information.
Moran was 26 years old and Reynoso was 28 when they were reported missing on May 12, 2017.
Three men were arrested on June 27 this year on murder charges: Jesus Ruiz Jr., 41, of Stockton, Manuel Rios, 28, of Coachella and Abraham Fregoso, 32, of Indio.
On May 12, 2017, at approximately 9 a.m., a vehicle driven by Moran was located alongside the westbound Interstate 10 freeway in the city of Beaumont. The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports after the vehicle was found, a police bloodhound detected the couple's scent near the SUV, but the trail disappeared about 50 feet from the vehicle.
Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin and Sheriff Chad Bianco held a news conference in June in which they announced human remains had been found in the Coachella Valley and were undergoing testing for identification, the Palm Springs Desert Sun reports.
"The investigation that led us to the remains indicates that we did find them," the Palm Springs Desert Sun reports Bianco said at the time.
In total six defendants are currently in custody and facing charges.
MORE:
