Santa Barbara County – Emma Posadas-Espinoza, a 58-year old Lompoc resident, has been the subject of a mystery since her dead body was found hidden in foliage on a La Habra residential street by man walking his dog in July of this year.
Prior to the discovery of her body in La Habra, Espinoza’s son, Gabriel Espinoza–a 30-year old resident of Santa Barbara County, who had been in contact with Lompoc area police but had neglected to file a missing person’s report on his absent mother–made statements to local area broadcast media regarding his mother as “a caring person and a mom who regularly showed up to support him when he played baseball as a youth.”
Emma Posadas-Espinoza
Once his mother’s body was discovered more than 100 miles from her home, the younger Espinoza, apparently grief-stricken, appeared before the press to state “That’s my mom. I want that person, whoever it was, I forgive them, but it’s just so hard.”
With an autopsy providing no clues as to the cause of her death, the circumstances surrounding her demise remained a mystery for the past six months, with law enforcement reluctant to release any details of their ongoing investigation…until the December 23rd arrest in Santa Barbara County of Gabriel Espinoza.
According to a spokesman for the La Habra Police Department, Gabriel Espinoza was arrested at his Santa Maria home with the help of Santa Maria Police Department detectives and was subsequently transported to Orange County Jail where he is currently in custody on suspicion of first-degree murder with special circumstances.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Maria Police Department
Read more:
KCOY: Son of Lompoc woman arrested for her murder
Noozhawk: Son arrested in death of Lompoc woman
Santa Maria Times: Emma Posada-Espinoza
