Man accused of torching wife and dumping body near Lake Elsinore

A 27-year-old Garden Grove man accused of killing his wife and torching her body, which was found on Temescal Canyon Road near Lake Elsinore, pleaded not guilty today to a murder charge.

Roberto Gallardo Aguilar allegedly killed 22-year-old Sharon Elizabeth Contreras during the early morning hours of May 23.

He is also charged with attempting to dissuade a witness, for allegedly warning an acquaintance — through his sister — not to go to the authorities.

Sheriff’s deputies were called to Temescal Canyon Road, near Lake Street, in the Lake Elsinore area to investigate a burning bundle that turned out to be a body.

Authorities identified the victim through dental records.

Investigators said they used phone records to place her husband at the scene where her body was found. He had called his sister to tell her his wife was missing.

Aguilar told investigators he slapped his spouse, but said she was alive when he went on to work, according to court documents.

“When shown a photo of the burned decedent by Detective Noce, Roberto had no reaction,” sheriff’s Investigator James Campos wrote in an affidavit submitted to the court.

Investigators also heard from a man who said the defendant told him that “he messed up his wife and dumped her,” Campos wrote.

Aguilar, who is being held in lieu of $1 million bail, will be back in court on Dec. 11 for a felony settlement conference.

Tags: garden grove, Lake Elsinore, Roberto Gallardo Aguilar, Sharon Elizabeth Contreras, SWRNN

This entry was posted on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 11:51 pm and is filed under Courts, Crime, Local News, News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.