A man was arrested, after he allegedly led police to a shallow grave in a Colton backyard where he said his neighbor's body was buried, officials said Wednesday.
The investigation began about two weeks ago as a possible missing persons case involving Gary Titus, the man who owns the home, the Colton Police Department said. A family member had asked officers to perform a welfare check on Titus.
Officers went inside the home and were not able to find him or anything that aroused suspicion, police Cpl. Ray Mendez said.
On Monday, the Titus family asked police to check again, and that's when officers say Flávio Delgadillo approached them about Titus. Delgadillo said he was doing some landscaping work for Titus in the backyard, Mendez said.
Delgadillo allegedly also told police that he recently got into a physical altercation with Titus and then showed them where the body was buried in the backyard.
"It's shocking seeing two neighbors right across the street and this happens," said neighbor Ruben Castaneda.
Neighbors described Titus as a nice, quiet man in his 60s. They shared a similar opinion about Delgadillo.
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Police have not released information about a possible motive for killing. They are also not confirming if the body belongs to Titus until the coroner positively identifies the remains.
