A boyfriend who called police Tuesday night to say his girlfriend was in need of medical aid and possibly dead in their Garden Grove apartment was arrested today for murder, according to police.
Troy Eric Tommasino, 54, was arrested for suspected homicide, said Garden Grove Police Lt. Robert Bogue.
Tommasino called 9-1-1 around 8:30 p.m., and officers sent to his unit in the 13000 block of Casa Linda Lane found the body of a 40-year-old woman and blood on the floor, said Bogue, who added she may have already been dead up to 48 hours. Her autopsy is scheduled Thursday.
Homicide detectives determined she died inside the residence and that her death appeared suspicious, according to Bogue, who added hoarding conditions in the apartment complicated the investigation. “The body was found in a position so that it was not obvious of a homicide,” he said.
The victim’s identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, but neighbors identified her as “Jule” and said she and her boyfriend had lived there a year and a half, although she kicked him out at one point for being violent to her. “Everyone pretty much knew they were having trouble,” a neighbor named Steve told KCAL9.
Bogue confirmed police have been called to the apartment for domestic violence reports.
Before Tommasino’s arrest, he had been undergoing questioning at the police station as a person of interest since the discovery of the death, which Bogue at that time had referred to as “suspicious.”
