‘Person of Interest’ Identified in Death of Mother of Three

A 23-year-old woman was found dead Thursday in a Laguna Hills apartment, and Orange County sheriff's deputies had a "person of interest" in custody.

Deputies were called to conduct a welfare check on a resident at an apartment building at Moulton and Alicia parkways about 2:30 p.m. and found the woman dead, according to Jaimee Blashaw of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

The cause of the woman's death was not revealed, and her name was not immediately released. Blashaw said investigators were interviewing witnesses and looking for clues in the area.

Neighbors allege the person of interest is the woman's husband, a U.S. Marine, but authorities would not confirm the identity of the person in custody for the death investigation.

The victim, a mother of three children all under the age of five, filed a temporary restraining order against her husband. The couple was said to be in a troubled marriage after the woman refused to move with her husband.

"I was there when she got in a fight with him," the victim's friend Zitalli Correa said. "She didn't want to quit her job."

A broken mirror at the residence where the victim was found indicated a struggle ensued, according to police.