Police have arrested the son and daughter of a Southern California woman who was charged with murder after she was seen hauling a trash can containing body parts down a neighborhood street.
Daniel Ortiz, 25, and Chanel Alicia Ortiz, 26, both of Riverside, were stopped in Rancho Cucamonga and arrested Wednesday on suspicion of helping their mother dispose the remains of her ex-boyfriend, according to Ontario police.
Carmen Montenegro, 51, was charged with murder on Tuesday. Investigators initially thought she lived in San Bernardino but now believe that she lives somewhere in neighboring Riverside County.
All three remained jailed Thursday in San Bernardino County.
Montenegro was arrested on Sunday after witnesses said she wheeled a 30-gallon trash can containing body parts down a street in Ontario, 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Investigators said the remains were those of Samuel Wiggins Jr., 63, of Diamond Bar. Relatives reported him missing on May 1.
Investigators suspect Wiggins was killed at his home, and that parts of his body were buried at a residence in Ontario and then dug up.
A family member of Montenegro's, Matthew Bell, told the San Bernardino Sun that he saw Montenegro in a hole in the backyard of his grandmother's house on Sunday. He said he also saw her throw body parts in the trash can and that she offered him $5,000 to help dispose of the remains.
Bell said he instead went to call police and that Montenegro followed him with the trash can, still pleading for help.
She was arrested about 200 yards from the home.
Investigators on Wednesday found additional body parts buried in two large flower pots that Montenegro and her son left at a Bell Gardens home, according to a statement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner's Department.
All the parts belonged to Wiggins.
"The entire body has been recovered," the statement said.
No information was released on how Wiggins was killed.
