Report: Calif. man suspected of strangling ex-girlfriend in front of their toddler
OCEANSIDE, Calif. – A southern California man charged with murder in the death of his 22-year-old ex-girlfriend is accused of strangling the woman in front of their toddler son, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Uriel Leon, 24, is suspected of killing Melissa Contreras. CBS affiliate KFMB reports that officers and paramedics sent to check out a report of a “person down” inside a vehicle near an Oceanside intersection found the woman’s body around 8:40 p.m. Monday, according to Oceanside police.
Leon is charged with first-degree murder and felony child cruelty and is being held on $2 million bail. He reportedly pleaded not guilty to both on Thursday.
The Union-Tribune reports that Deputy District Attorney Ben Barlow said surveillance cameras captured Contreras driving up to the house where Leon was reportedly living with his parents around 5:30 p.m. Monday. Leon is reportedly seen bringing the child out to the car and then getting into the car. Some sort of altercation occurs and Barlow told the newspaper that investigators believe Leon strangled Contreras while he was in the backseat and she was in the front seat.
Leon then is reportedly seen driving the car a short distance and walking back to the home with his son.
The newspaper reports that investigators believe the couple had been together on and off for several years and that the relationship had broken down recently.
