1 Arrested in Death of Woman

A man has been arrested in connection with the death of a woman who disappeared from a Santa Ana motel early Wednesday and was found dead a few hours later in Compton, authorities said.

“He admitted being involved in the crime,” said Officer Mario Corona, a spokesman for the Santa Ana Police Department.

The names of the suspect and the victim were not released pending the outcome of the investigation and notification of the woman’s relatives, Corona said.

The police investigation began shortly after midnight Wednesday when officers were called to the Travel Inn Motel in the 2100 block of North Main Street by someone complaining of “suspicious circumstances,” Corona said. “People were taking things in and out of a car,” he said.

Investigators learned from witnesses that a woman was missing from the motel, he said. About 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, officers found the body of the missing woman at a location on Alameda Street in Compton.

Authorities have not released details about how the woman died or under what circumstances the officers found her.

The man was expected to be booked into Santa Ana Jail Wednesday night on suspicion of murder, Corona said.