Couple Suspected In Dismemberment Arrested In Hollywood
HOLLYWOOD (CBS) — A husband and wife accused of killing and dismembering a man at a downtown Los Angeles hotel were arrested Friday in Hollywood.
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Ed Mertz Reports
Edward Garcia Jr., 36, and his wife Melissa Hope Garcia, 25, were arrested this morning near La Brea and Hawthorn avenues, according to Officer Norma Eisenman of the Los Angeles Police Department.
"We can confirm they were arrested, but we don't have any other information from the detectives yet," Eisenman said.
The killing was discovered Nov. 29 when a maid at the Continental Hotel found part of 49-year-old Herbert Tracy White's body in a backpack, police said. The rest of his body was later found in a blanket under a bed in the hotel room.
Police believe the three met in Hollywood, then went to the room rented by the Garcias, who allegedly killed White after robbing him. A knife was recovered at the scene.
According to police, White's limbs were removed from his body, which was in five pieces.
At a news conference earlier this week, White's relatives said he had mentioned meeting a couple at an ATM machine and being told their hard-luck story.
White's relatives said he tended to be kind to people because he was a handyman who had been sober for 15 years and believed he had been given a second chance at life. If someone needed a meal, money or a ride home, he was always there, they said.
Police initially said the couple might be headed for York, Pa.
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