A California man has been charged with the murder of a 27-year-old woman who was allegedly beaten with a fire extinguisher before she was found dead, according to authorities.
Details of the murder
Following his arrest on Wednesday in relation to the death of Tatum Goodwin, Dino Rojas-Moreno, 26, was ‘charged with special circumstances murder for beating a 27-year-old woman to death with a fire extinguisher and leaving her body with a sandbag covering her head in a nearby construction site,’ according to a Friday news release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Per the Orange County D.A.’s Office, Rojas-Moreno’s charges include, ‘one felony count of murder, one felony enhancement of special circumstances of committing the murder in the commission of a kidnapping, and one felony enhancement for the personal use of a weapon, a fire extinguisher.’
How Goodwin’s body was found
Goodwin’s body was found in a secluded location near the 200 block of Ocean Avenue in Laguna Beach, Calif. at approximately 8:20 a.m. on Nov. 12 under a chain link fence by a construction worker, authorities said.
The area was behind the restaurant where she worked, per local news outlet KABC.
How Goodwin was assaulted
Rojas-Moreno had allegedly approached Goodwin at about 1 a.m on Nov. 11, while she was close to her car in a parking lot near to where her body was later found, per the Orange County D.A.’s Office release.
Authorities further alleged that he then assaulted her and dragged her away from the parking lot to a ‘secluded area’ behind a movie theater that was under construction.
‘Rojas-Moreno is then accused of beating Goodwin to death with a fire extinguisher,’ the release stated.
‘It is unclear whether Goodwin had any prior relationship with Rojas-Moreno. Rojas-Moreno failed to show up to work the day of the murder after claiming he had been jumped by several men in Santa Ana,’ the news release continued.
Goodwin’s family told NBC Los Angeles that they were not familiar with Rojas-Moreno.
Rojas-Moreno was arrested on Wednesday by Laguna Beach Detectives, with assistance from the Newport Beach and Anaheim Police Departments, according to a Laguna Beach Police Department news release.
Rojas-Moreno’s bail is set at $1,000,000, per the statement.
