Women's bodies discovered in freezer, pond at almond orchard; suspect arrested
ARBUCKLE, Calif. -- A Northern California almond orchard turned into a gruesome crime scene Thursday when two women's bodies were discovered, one hidden in a freezer, the other in a pond, CBS station KOVR-TV reports. Colusa County sheriff's deputies arrested Martin Ehrke, 49, for the alleged double homicide.
Ehrke is the landowner's son.
Sheriff's Lt. Mark Contreras told the station deputies first learned about the grisly scene in Arbuckle from a phone call early Thursday. The caller claimed to have been on the property and described a suspicious scene, including bloody walls in a residence and two missing women.
"They were currently known to be here at this residence staying on and off," Contreras said.
The bodies discovered later in the day belonged to those women. Contreras said both were likely killed within 24 hours before their bodies were found.
The freezer was located in a bedroom of an attached residence on the property, Assistant Sheriff Jim Saso said in a statement.
"It's a box-style freezer that would be in a garage," Contreras said.
Deputies located Ehrke in Colusa, about a 15-minute drive from the crime scene. Deputies took him into custody, interviewed him and then booked him into jail on homicide charges.
"It's going to be hard on this community for a while," Contreras said. "... It's a small community; everybody knows everybody."
Deputies are not releasing the identities of the women pending notification of their next of kin.
Arbuckle has a population of about 3,000 people.
