GILROY, CALIFORNIA: A California man is facing murder charges after he reportedly killed his former partner, chopped her into pieces and burned her remains in barrels.
Ivan Alfaro Escobedo, 31, who is also known as Iban Alfaro Escobedo, is accused of shooting his ex Alyssa Salazar, 33, to death.
According to the Gilroy Police Department, Salazar’s family reported the mother-of-two daughters missing on August 10 after she hadn’t been heard from since late July.
How did the authorities find out about the incident?
The investigation led detectives to a property south of Gilroy in unincorporated Santa Clara County on August 30 where they learned that Escobedo’s sister lived in a trailer at the property.
Escobedo was at his sister’s home in late July when a witness told detectives he saw a fire burn for several days in barrels that were next to the trailer.
Investigators searched the property between August 30 and September 1 where they discovered human bones in the burned barrel, including pieces of ribs, a skull, and a hand.
Detectives also found bloodstains in a bathtub. The remains and blood were later identified as Salazar’s.
According to Gilroy police Department head Jason Greathead, video footage from the Steinbeck Library in Salinas at around 12.30 pm on July 26 showed Salazar getting inside Escobedo’s 2007 Honda Accord and driving away.
The victim made a phone call from Escobedo’s phone a few minutes later and that was the last time anyone heard from her.
What did the witness say?
As per witnesses, Salazar slumped down in her ex-boyfriend’s car later that day. A witness also claimed that Escobedo admitted to shooting Salazar in his car, dismembering her body into pieces in the bathtub and burning the body in the barrels, the document said.
Why did Ivan Escovedo kill Alyssa Salazar?
Investigators believe the motive for the murder is because Salazar reported to police on April 27, 2023, that Escobedo raped and physically assaulted her.
Santa Clara County Superior Court records show felony family violence charges were filed on May 26.
The authorities allegedly did not take action on time
Salazar’s sister Jessica Salazar alleges the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office “sat” on the rape case “for over 2 weeks" in a GoFundMe page hoping to raise money for funeral expenses and an attorney.
“Had Alyssa’s case been processed in a timely manner my sister would be alive today,” she wrote on the GoFundMe page, adding “Alyssa is a strong soul and refused to let this man intimidate her into taking her statement back."
When was Ivan Escobedo arrested?
Escobedo was not arrested until August 30 in his Honda Accord where investigators found red-brown stains in the front passenger door frame and a nine mm handgun. The stains tested positive for blood and the DNA profile matched Salazar’s.
According to Fox affiliate KTVU, Escobedo refused to go to court on Wednesday, October 4, which prompted Jessica Salazar to call him a “coward.”
“May God never have your daughters run into a man like you. You’re a pig,” she told the outlet referring to Escobedo.
“Alyssa will come to you every night in your dreams, and I hope you will see her every time you look at me and my sister. I hope you see her face,” she said while sobbing.
Escobedo was taken to the Santa Clara County Jail where he’s been held without bail ever since.
