No Bail For Philadelphia Man Charged With Murder Of His Girlfriend
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Philadelphia man has been ordered held for court without bail, charged with murdering his girlfriend and stashing her body in the trunk of a car.
Jesus Garcia was arrested last December at a motel in Maple Shade after police tracked his missing girlfriend's car to that Quality Inn on Route 38.
Maria Santiago's decomposing remains were found inside, wrapped in blankets, according to assistant District Attorney Bridget Kirn.
"All we can say is that there was an argument and then he killed her."
The Burlington County medical examiner testified his ruling of "homicide by unspecified means" does not rule out suffocation.
Kirn: "There are ways to kill people that don't leave marks, and unfortunately Maria Santiago is the victim of one such way."
An attorney for the 42-year-old defendant argued there's no evidence that happened, and told the court that the autopsy couldn't even rule out flu as cause of death.
But Municipal Court Judge Patrick Dugan ruled there was enough to keep Garcia behind bars until trial next year on murder and abuse of corpse charges.
