Two Killed Execution-Style in Santa Fe Springs
Their identities are released, but the motive is a mystery
The crime scene in Normal Heights
The L.A. County Coroner has released the identities of a young couple shot to death execution style yesterday morning in a parking lot in Santa Fe Springs.
Each victim died of a single gunshot wound to the head.
The man was identified as 35-year-old Leonard Rios Soliz Junior of Pico Rivera. His companion was 31-year-old Celeste Jimenez of Bell Gardens.
Today, candles and roses mark the spot where the pair lost their lives in the parking lot at Vitachrome Graphics Group in the 11-thousand 500 block of Los Nietos Road.
Whittier Police, who investigate crime in Santa Fe Springs, say the location is a peculiar one. The stretch of Los Nietos Road in Santa Fe Springs serves numerous industrial properties, but little else.
“It’s an industrial area,” Officer Jason Zuhlke, the Whittier Police spokesman, told NBC Los Angeles,” There really aren’t a whole lot of people out at two in the morning.”
In fact, the murders might not have been discovered for hours had two Whittier officer not been involved in a traffic stop nearby early Sunday morning. They heard the sound of gunshots and found the bleeding victims.
But the trail of evidence ended there. Police found a graffiti-scarred van near the crime scene, but they now believe it is unrelated to the murders.
This evening, police investigators are looking for anyone who knew the victims.
“We want to see if there’s a nexus between anyone they knew,” said Officer Zuhlke, “ whether there would be associates, friends, family, etcetera.”
They are also trying to determine the motive for the slayings. It remains a question mark. They are hoping some member of the public can help them crack this case.
These were the third and fourth murders in Santa Fe Springs this year.
