Homicide---Cori Desmond 28, Feb. 17, 2009 [ARREST MADE]

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/Maverick1862/murder%20victims/CoriDesmond.jpg

Body Found on Roadside ID'd as Torrance Woman
Feb. 18, 2009

RUNNING SPRINGS -- Police have identified the remains of a woman whose body was stuffed in a plastic bag and dumped in a snowbank in the San Bernardino mountains.

A motorist who stopped to remove snow chains from his tires spotted a foot sticking out of a plastic bag Monday on Highway 330 near Running Springs.

The body has been identified as 28-year old Cori Daye Desmond of Torrance.

Desmond's Jeep Wrangler was found parked in the 1900 block of MacKay Lane in Redondo Beach Tuesday.

Investigators say the Jeep was parked just a few blocks away from the Bac Street Lounge, where Desmond was last seen alive Saturday night.

Sgt. Phil Keenan of the Redondo Beach Police Department said Desmond had argued with a man at the bar that night.

"He was located and talked to," but not arrested, Keenan said.

Keenan said that because the case was being handled by San Bernardino authorities he did not know if the man was regarded as a suspect, but said he was sure the man was not in custody.

The lounge, where Desmond used to work, was familiar to Redondo Beach police, Keenan said.

"It gets its fair share of calls," Keenan said.


"We know that she left by herself, by the video that we've reviewed," said Sgt. Tony Dececio of the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department. "And then her vehicle was found two blocks away."

Police say there was blunt force trauma to the body, but are not disclosing the cause of death.

An autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause and time of death.

Desmond's father told KTLA that the last time he saw his daughter was at a family birthday party.

He said he believes his daughter may have been "abducted or ran into somebody that she knew and went with them."


"She was a big girl so she could do what she wants, but she was smart and she was very strong," he said. "She was beautiful, she was my life. She'll be missed by a lot of people."


Anyone with information is asked to call the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department at (800) 78-CRIME

http://cms.ktla.com/pages/landing_mostinteresting/?Body-Found-on-Roadside-IDd-as-Torrance-W=1&blockID=215526&feedID=1080

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Seeking Healing Mourners focus on the life of Torrance's Cori Desmond, not her death
Mar. 2, 2009

Cori Daye Desmond's brutal murder was only mentioned in passing at her funeral Monday.

Family members chose instead to remember that the 28-year-old Torrance woman was skinny as a rail with an easy smile, brown eyes that stretched open as wide as they could when she was happy, and a raspy chuckle.

Friends knew Desmond by her nicknames - "Quirky," "Skeletor," and "Cori-oke" - which she earned by being an outgoing, self-described "party girl" who wasn't afraid to make fun of herself and who loved singing karaoke.

During the two-hour service at Journey of Faith Church in Manhattan Beach, about 700 mourners forgot that Desmond's killer has not yet been caught, or that her body was discovered far from home in a bag on the side of Highway 330 in snow-covered Running Springs.

Instead, they remembered her tendency to be silly - like when she dressed up for Halloween in a bright green wig and orange makeup as an Oompa Loompa from the movie "Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory." Or when she entertained bar-goers by swigging alcohol, holding a lighter to her mouth and blowing a fireball.

They talked about how she went boogie-boarding in a thong bikini, started mud fights, and played practical jokes on friends by spraying whipped cream on phone receivers and stretching plastic wrap over toilet seats. And they talked about how much she loved her family.

A family friend read e-mails that Desmond sent to one of her four little brothers in December: "I love you. I love you," Desmond wrote. "You are always in my prayers."

Desmond's friends read something she wrote about her life: "I want a life that makes sense. I want unbelievable adventure. I'm learning about myself and my family, and I cherish every minute."
Her zeal for life and her presence still feel strong, said her father, Mark Desmond.

"I don't know why Cori ever hit me up for money - she was probably the richest person I knew, with all her friends," her father said. "I still feel like she should be knocking on the door looking for car keys or something. Cori was an angel. Now she's gone home."

A video montage of pictures of Desmond's life was shown - from a baby with a seemingly oversized smile, to an awkward teenager with teased hair, to a beach-loving woman surrounded by friends.

After the funeral, the video was again shown at a reception at one of Desmond's hangouts, On the Rocks sports bar in Redondo Beach.

Laura Desmond, the wife of Cori Desmond's cousin Tom, talked about helping her get dressed up for a bartending competition a week before she was killed. The two talked about going shopping together and doing each other's makeup.

"The opportunity came and went too fast for me to capture it," Laura Desmond said, sobbing. "I promise you this, Cori. I will watch over your little brothers. I will hug them every chance I get and remind them that you are watching over them. I will meet their girlfriends and pick out the good ones from the bad. I will keep your memory alive. I will tell them stories about your life. And I will speak of you often and always."

A family friend read a letter from Desmond's mother, who is recovering from a brain aneurysm.

"I had the privilege of bringing Cori into this world," wrote her mother, Debbie Erickson. "I can remember finding (Cori's little brother) Blake rolled up in a rug, and he said: `Me and Cori were playing, and she made me into a Blake burrito."'

Desmond hopped between jobs nearly every season, family members said.

She had a degree in criminal justice from California State University, Long Beach, but lost interest in that career path after graduation. She worked at a department store, as a production assistant on a movie and as a bartender.

She loved cooking and contemplated going to culinary school, but she was working on her credentials to be a substitute teacher when she was killed in mid-February.

She always returned to work at local bars, where she was well known. The night before she disappeared - on Valentine's Day - she worked at Beaches in Manhattan Beach, where she had been a waitress and bartender for about four months.

After work, she went to the Bac Street Lounge in Redondo Beach to hang out with friends who worked there and help them clean up.

She left there alone about 2:30 a.m. Feb. 15, and walked about two blocks to Bogey's Sports Bar & Grill. There, she pounded on the door and asked workers to let her in to use the bathroom.

But she wasn't allowed into the closed bar, and workers said she did not sound distressed.

Her body was found beside the road in the San Bernardino Mountains about 36 hours later. Her Jeep was still parked down the street from the Redondo Beach bars.

At the funeral, Desmond's salmon-colored casket was carried into the church sanctuary by family members while the song "Over the Rainbow" played.

The Rev. John Cusick told mourners that the grief of Desmond's killing could be healed if community members support each other.

"We're here today because the beach cities have lost a daughter, and we're coming together to look for hope and healing," Cusick said. "We also don't want to be here because we don't want to admit what has happened. We would rather be somewhere else and have her here with us - enjoying her laugh, seeing her smile, being inspired by her courage and tenacity for life. But we are here today.

"The sinful choice of one person has brought us here. But the godly choices of many can bring us healing."

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_11823502?source=rss

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/Maverick1862/murder%20victims/CoriDesmond-1.jpg

Redondo e-mail tying homicide to another crime called urban legend
Mar. 17, 2009

Police said Monday there is no link between a January kidnapping attempt in Redondo Beach and the killing last month of 28-year-old Cori Desmond of Torrance.

An e-mail spreading throughout the South Bay ties the crimes together.

"It's totally created and is one of those urban legends," said Lt. Paul Wrightsman, head of the Redondo Beach Police Department's detective bureau. "There are no investigative linkages between the Desmond homicide and any kidnapping that we are investigating."

Wrightsman said he tracked the e-mail to its source, but would not identify her. He said he gave her a "professional admonishment."

"It just created a lot of unnecessary chatter in the South Bay," he said.

Desmond's body was found Feb. 16 in a bag in a snowbank on a San Bernardino County mountain road. She had last been seen in Redondo Beach.

On March 9, police released a sketch of a suspect sought in a kidnapping attempt Jan. 3 in north Redondo Beach. In that crime, a man tried to pull a woman into a white van, but she fought back and escaped.

http://www.dailybreeze.com/crimeandcourts/ci_11929767?source=rss

[sarahhod]

Information released in Redondo Beach kidnap attempt

Police are seeking a suspect in an incident not believed to be connected to the killing of Cori Desmond.

By Larry Altman, Staff Writer
Posted: 03/19/2009 10:47:37 PM PDT

[/URL]
(http://www.dailybreeze.com/crimeandcourts) Police on Thursday released information about another abduction attempt in Redondo Beach, but said this one is not related to a kidnapping try in January.
The Feb. 28 crime also is not believed to be connected to the killing of Cori Daye Desmond, a 28-year-old Torrance woman whose body was found in the San Bernardino Mountains hours after she was last seen in north Redondo Beach, police said.
A 17-year-old girl told police that a man 40 to 50 years old accosted her about
9:30 a.m., Redondo Beach police Lt. Paul Wrightsman said.
The man approached her in his car, said his name was Ted, and asked if she wanted to get inside.
When the girl refused, the man reached through his driver's window, grabbed her arm and ordered her to get into the car.
The girl pulled away and was able to walk home.
Wrightsman said the girl did not report the crime until 32 hours after
http://us.bc.yahoo.com/b?P=d5910b6c-1531-11de-ace8-eb812cdfba87&T=19e82n3mf%2fX%3d1237541464%2fE%3d2022775704%2fR% 3dnchome%2fK%3d5%2fV%3d8.1%2fW%3d0%2fY%3dPARTNER_U S%2fF%3d1938858658%2fH%3dYWx0c3BpZD0iOTY3MjgzMDAzI iBzZXJ2ZUlkPSJkNTkxMGI2Yy0xNTMxLTExZGUtYWNlOC1lYjg xMmNkZmJhODciIHNpdGVJZD0iNjM3MDUxIiB0U3RtcD0iMTIzN zU0MTQ2NDgzMjEyMiIgdGFyZ2V0PSJfYmxhbmsiIA--%2fQ%3d-1%2fS%3d1%2fJ%3d25558862&U=13ul4s0t5%2fN%3dCYKvAEwNid4-%2fC%3d600061291.600065062.400425703.400425703%2fD %3dLREC%2fB%3d1719815299262865842%2fV%3d2
it happened. No arrests have been made. Police interviewed a potential suspect and are seeking additional information on others.
Police released a sketch of the assailant. He is white, 5 feet, 9 inches tall and has a stocky build.
He had a light red, ruddy complexion, nice teeth that appeared to be fake, and graying brown, blondish shoulder-length hair. His hair was wavy, thin and parted on the side.
He drove a midsize, four-door dark blue or gray car.
Wrightsman said the crime is not related to an abduction attempt Jan. 3 at Green Lane and Grant Avenue.
A woman told police that a man driving a white van pulled up to her and asked for directions. When she approached, another man in the back opened the sliding door, got out and grabbed her. She got away.
Police said neither crime is related to Desmond's disappearance and killing. Desmond was last seen alive Feb. 16 at the Bac Street Lounge on Artesia Boulevard.
Her body was found in a bag the next day in a snowbank on a road near Running Springs. The killing remains unsolved.
Anyone with information about the man in the sketch should call Detective Denise Brenner at 310-379-2477, Ext. 2320.



[URL]http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_11955753

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Tips lead to arrest in Redondo murder
Friday, October 09, 2009

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- San Bernardino homicide investigators announced the arrest of a Redondo Beach man for the murder of 28-year-old Cori Desmond.
Desmond's body was discovered Feb. 16 in a plastic bag along a snow-covered roadway in Running Springs. While investigators would not discuss the cause of death, they said it was sexual in nature.

In a press conference Friday, investigators said that two calls to their tip hotline from an anonymous caller impliceated 35-year-old Tony Lopez Perez in Desmond's murder. Perez was called to headquarters, questioned and booked.
Mark Desmond, Cori's father, is relieved.

I'm glad he's caught and that nobody else is in jeopardy of getting hurt," said Desmond. "I can't bring my daughter back, but it could prevent it from happening again in San Bernardino."
Compelling evidence was reportedly found in the car Perez owned in February but sold shortly after the murder.
"The information was that Tony Perez, soon after the murder, was scrubbing and cleaning the inside of his Dodge Durango and sold his vehicle on the 4th of March to a dealership in the Los Angeles area," said Lt. Frank Gonzales, San Bernardino County's Sheriff's Department.
"We can be sure to argue no bail at the time of arraignment," said San Bernardino County District Attorney Mark Ramos. "This man does not belong on the street." Ramos will file murder charges against Perez.
There were low points at times during the investigation when a number of callers offered information that led nowhere. Then, the two anonymous tips put the homicide detectives back on track.
Perez was the manager of a restaurant and bar in Redondo Beach.
Cori Desmond's father said that he does not believe that his daughter knew Perez before the night of her death.
Perez is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.
Mark Desmond indicated that going through the judicial procedures that will follow are going to be a very difficult time for him.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/inland_empire&id=7057236&rss=rss-kabc-article-7057236

[Jute]

My thoughts and prayers are with the Desmond family as they go through the next phase of losing Cori. As Mr. Desmond said, it will likely be very difficult for them. I do hope that a degree of peace will encompass them when the trial is over.

[sarahhod]

Man arrested in connection with body found near Running Springs

10:26 PM PDT on Friday, October 9, 2009

By MELANIE C. JOHNSON
The Press-Enterprise


SAN BERNARDINO - A Redondo Beach man has been arrested in connection with the February slaying of a Torrance woman whose body was found near Running Springs last February, deputies said.
Tony Lopez Perez, 35, has been arrested on suspicion of murdering the 28-year-old Cori Daye Desmond, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department investigators said Friday at a news conference at the East Third Street headquarters.
Perez was arrested Thursday after he came to headquarters for an interview with investigators. He was booked at the Central Detention Center on a murder charge and is being held without bail.


http://www.pe.com/imagesdaily/2009/10-10/desmond10_lopez_200.jpg Tony Lopez Perez



Desmond's father Mark fought back tears at the news conference as he thanked investigators.
Desmond has become an investigator of sorts following his daughter's disappearance. He printed bumper stickers calling for tips, arranged for billboards with his daughter's photo to go up and spread the word about his missing child to whoever would listen.
He has fits of worry and sleepless nights, he said, but when he got the call at 7:15 a.m. Friday that a suspect had been arrested, he felt relieved.
"It was joy," he said, "absolute joy."
Lt. Frank Gonzales said investigators had worked hard to get an arrest in the case, conducting more than 100 interviews and looking into numerous tips. He held up a photograph of the slain woman that homicide detectives kept at their desks, a portrait of Desmond with the words "Solve It" under her smiling face.
Gonzales said a couple of tips from an anonymous source, one in May and again in August, that led to Perez' arrest.
The tipster reported that Perez, who worked as a restaurant general manager in the South Bay area, had been acting suspiciously, Gonzales said. The suspect had scrubbed down his white Dodge Durango shortly after Desmond's body was found and sold it to a dealership, Gonzales said.
Investigators tracked the car down at its new owner's home.
It did not appear that Perez and Desmond knew each other, and it seems Perez acted alone, Gonzales said. The motive for the murder is believed to be sexual in nature, he said, but declined to say whether Desmond had been sexually assaulted.
The specific cause of death has not been released because the case is still under investigation, he said.
Authorities also declined to discuss the evidence. An affidavit in support of a search warrant obtained before it was sealed offers more details.
Desmond's body was found Feb. 16 near Running Springs after a driver who stopped at a turnout on Highway 330 , looked out over a mound of dirt and spotted a foot.
Desmond disappeared Feb. 15 at around 2:30 a.m. She had left the Bac Street Lounge in Redondo Beach. Staff writer Paul LaRocco contributed to this report

http://www.pe.com/localnews/rivcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_E_desmond10.4358c8d.html

[Nut44x4]

http://www.rimoftheworld.net/4244

Cori Daye Desmond Murder Suspect Due in Court
Resemblance to Police Sketch in Kidnapping Attempt Noted

By Michael P. Neufeld
Monday, October 12, 2009

San Bernardino, CA - The arraignment of 35-year-old Tony Lopez Perez from Redondo Beach for the alleged murder of Cori Daye Desmond is expected tomorrow in San Bernardino County Superior Court.

Today's Columbus Day holiday delayed the arraignment of Perez who remains in custody at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino and is being held without bail.

Several online sources in Orange County are noting the possible resemblance of Perez to a sketch released following a January 3 kidnapping attempt by a man or men in a white van near the corner of Green Lane and Grant Avenue. The location is fairly close to the spot where Desmond was last seen.

Police sketch of perp
http://www.rimoftheworld.net/images/gallery/11544.large.jpg
At the time the sketch was released, Redondo Beach Police said the incident was not connected to the Desmond case.

With the arrest of Perez, citizens are requesting police review the January 3 incident for a possible connection.

SUSPECT PROFILE

Tony Lopez Perez, known on several popular social websites as "ocstraycat," is listed as general manager and executive chef of the Spitfire Grill in Santa Monica.

The Spitfire Grill, located at 3300 Airport Avenue on the south side of Santa Monica Airport, confirms Perez' title on the contact area of the restaurant's website.

Court documents reviewed by RIMOFTHEWORLD.net show Perez was convicted of a driving under the influence in 2007.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

A We-Tip caller informed San Bernardino County Sheriff's detectives that Perez was cleaning his white Dodge Durango before selling it to a Los Angeles dealership.

The vehicle was sold to a new party and detectives obtained a search warrant and had the Sheriff's Scientific Investigation Division personnel checked the vehicle for physical evidence.

Detectives declined to release details of the evidence collected but did admit it linked Perez to Desmond's death.

However, RIMOFTHEWORLD.net has learned from a source close to the investigation that Desmond's blood was possibly discovered during the search of the white Durango.

Investigators have also declined to release the cause of death but scanner transmissions the day the body was found indicate it may have been blunt force trauma.

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Desmond slaying suspect pleads not guilty
Oct. 13, 2009

A Redondo Beach man pleaded not guilty to a single murder charge Tuesday in the slaying of Cori Desmond, whose father speculated that the two might have been acquainted.

Tony Lopez Perez, 35, appeared briefly in San Bernardino Superior Court for the arraignment, and will return Oct. 22, according to Susan Mickey, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office.

He remains jailed without bail.

Perez was arrested Thursday night for the death of the 28-year-old Torrance woman, whose body was discovered Feb. 16 on the side of a snowy Running Springs highway.

Mark Desmond said he went to Tuesday's hearing with other family members, and caught a quick glimpse of the man accused of killing his daughter.

Although detectives have described the crime as random and say there is no connection between Lopez and Cori Desmond, her father doesn't believe it.

Considering how close-knit the South Bay is and the fact that both Perez and his daughter worked at several local restaurants - he as a chef and manager and she as a bartender and waitress - he contends they must have known each other.
He's even sure he's seen Lopez before, at a bar playing pool a couple months after Desmond died.

The last few days since Lopez's arrest have been a whirlwind for Mark Desmond.

Although Perez's arrest won't bring his daughter back, he said he's pleased the alleged killer is locked up.

"That way he can't hurt anyone else," Mark Desmond added.

His daughter was last seen alive Feb. 15 by friends at the Bac Street Lounge in Redondo Beach, where she had gone after finishing her job as a bartender at Beaches in Manhattan Beach.

Desmond formerly worked at the Bac Street Lounge on Artesia Boulevard and Perez lives nearby in north Redondo Beach.

Anonymous tips led San Bernardino County sheriff's homicide detectives to Perez, who was seen scrubbing the inside of his truck shortly after Desmond's death.

He sold the vehicle to a dealership, but detectives later tracked it down and found unspecified evidence inside that they believe proves Lopez killed Desmond.

No details have yet emerged about the crime, although detectives said they believe the motive was sexual.

A public defender was appointed to represent Lopez, a single father of two who worked as a restaurant manager.

No one from the San Bernardino County Public Defender's Office returned a telephone call seeking comment.

Lopez apparently had fabricated to friends stories about a law enforcement and military career, but a sheriff's spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday that he had no such experience in his background.

In a statement released Tuesday, Redondo Beach Mayor Mike Gin thanked the sheriff's detectives for their work on the case.

"We hope that this arrest will begin to answer the questions of what happened to Cori," he said. "Our prayers are with the Desmond family as they cope with a new phase of their grief for her loss."

Meanwhile, Redondo Beach police officers said Tuesday that they don't believe Perez was involved in the attempted kidnapping of another woman earlier this year.

In the Jan. 3 crime, a white van pulled up to the woman as she walked near the intersection of Green Lane and Grant Avenue. The driver asked for directions.

When she moved closer to offer help, the van's sliding side door opened and a man tried to pull her inside. The woman broke free and ran.

Police released information about the incident when a sketch of the assailant was completed after Desmond's slaying, fueling speculation that the crimes were related.

But police repeatedly said they were not.

Detectives investigating the Desmond slaying incorporated the white van incident into their questions, but found no evidence that Perez was involved, said Redondo Beach police Lt. Joe Hoffman.

The police sketch of the incident's assailant in the incident also bore a similar appearance to Perez.

Detectives included Perez's image in a series of photographs shown to the victim, but she did not pick him out as the attacker, Hoffman said.

The victim told police she saw Perez's photograph on the news and that he was definitely not the attacker, Hoffman said.

Another woman in April reported a similar incident in Hermosa Beach, where police said they would also look into whether Perez could be a suspect in any crimes.

http://www.dailybreeze.com/crimeandcourts/ci_13554286?source=rss

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Of course he is!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nut44x4]

Cori Desmond's Accused Killer Ordered to Stand Trial
KTLA News
3:46 AM PST, January 29, 2010

SAN BERNARDINO -- A restaurant chef accused of killing a popular Torrance bartender and dumping her body in the San Bernardino Mountains has been ordered to stand trial for murder.

Tony Lopez Perez claims he did not kill Cori Desmond and instead insists he found the 28-year old's body and decided to dispose of it in the mountains, according to records recently made public.

According to a search warrant affidavit filed Nov. 25, the Redondo Beach man told detectives he found Desmond's body lying next to his Dodge Durango outside his apartment.

Perez claimed he put the body in a duffel bag, placed it in his vehicle, went to work at the Spitfire Grill in Santa Monica and then transported it 80 miles, according to the affidavit.

The document did not state why he would pick up and dispose of the body without notifying police.

Perez pleaded not guilty to murder after his arrest in October.

He is due back in court for arraignment on Feb. 4.

Desmond was last seen February 15 leaving the Bac Street Lounge on Artesia Boulevard.

Her Jeep was found parked near the bar, but her body was found the next day in a bag at the side of a highway near Running Springs.

Investigators have not disclosed the cause of death, but said she appeared to suffer from blunt force trauma.

Authorities allege Perez, who was believed to have no prior relationship with the victim, tried to pick her up as she walked home from the Bac Street Lounge in the early morning hours of February 15.

When Desmond resisted, detectives suspect that Perez attacked her.

Sheriff's Lt. Rick Els said Perez and Desmond did not know each other and that the motive was a sex assault.

He was allegedly linked to the crime after an anonymous tipster reported seeing Perez scrubbing and cleaning the inside of his truck, which he sold shortly thereafter.

Detectives recovered the vehicle from its new owner, reportedly finding evidence from the crime.

Perez faces one count of murder in Desmond's death.
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-cori-desmond,0,3523015.story

[CSAFD]

i hope they FRY him when he's convicted!