Gory and disturbing details have emerged in the case against a Costa Mesa man accused of murdering his girlfriend and dumping her body in a trash can.
Daniel Allen Aldrich, 49, allegedly strangled his girlfriend, Julie Anne Sanetra, 38, after they got into an argument following a night of drinking on Oct. 20, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Daniel Allen Aldrich allegedly strangled his girlfriend Julie Anne Sanetra.
(Orange County Prosecutor)
He slit her wrist with a folding knife, according to the office, then watched television and went to bed while her corpse lay on the couch. Prosecutors say he woke up the next day and put her body in the trash before packing his bags and heading to his mother’s house in Glendale.
On Monday, he was charged with one count of murder and one count of personal use of a weapon in the death, according to the district attorney’s office. If convicted as charged, he faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in prison.
“Julie Sanetra did not deserve to be strangled and thrown into a trash can like a trash can,” said Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer in a statement. “The insensitivity of this crime shocks consciences, and we will do everything to ensure that justice is done to Julie and her loved ones. »
On Oct. 22, landscapers hired to mow Aldrich’s lawn discovered Sanetra’s body partially hanging in trash next to her home in the 1900 block of Maple Avenue and contacted the Costa Mesa Police Department, according to the department and the district. law firm.
Aldrich was arrested by Costa Mesa police that evening at his mother’s Glendale home in the 3700 block of El Lado Drive, according to police and the office.
He is being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 19, according to the office.
