Police identify body found in refrigerator in Orange County

Santa Ana police on Thursday identified the body of a woman found in a refrigerator as that of Ricarda Reyes-Villalobos, 50.

Police received a call at 2 p.m. Thursday reporting a body in the garage of a home in the 1000 block of Jackson Street, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.

Officers called in homicide detectives, and a search warrant was obtained late Thursday, Bertagna said. The Orange County coroner took the entire refrigerator to the department’s lab.

Detectives found the couple who had rented and lived in the detached garage and said they were now living in Garden Grove.

The couple identified Reyes-Villalobos as a relative and said they had been her caregiver, police said. They said she passed away in August 2014.

The relatives had not wanted to report the death to authorities because of their immigration status, police said. The couple planned on returning to the residence for their property when they had the money.

The Orange County coroner performed an autopsy Tuesday and found no signs of trauma. The official cause of death is pending a toxicology report, police said.

After the report is issued, the case will be submitted to the Orange County district attorney’s office for possible criminal charges, police said.

The remains were originally found by the landlord, who said a strong odor was coming from the refrigerator, police said.

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Times staff writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.

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