Woman’s charred body found in trunk at tow yard, CA officials say. Now an arrest
A woman has been arrested and charged after charred human remains were found in the trunk of a car at a California tow yard, officials say.
Sandra Romo Diaz, 52, of Los Angeles, has been charged with murder in the death of Soledad Lopez, who died on or about Sept. 7, according to a criminal complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
McClatchy News was unable to immediately reach an attorney representing Diaz on Oct. 3.
Los Angeles police detectives made the discovery when they responded to a South Los Angeles tow yard Sept. 9 as part of a missing persons investigation, according to an Oct. 2 news release from the department.
The tow yard’s operator called officers “when family members arrived and said they wanted to look in the car,” police told The Los Angeles Times. The family had recently reported Lopez missing, the newspaper reported.
Detectives soon discovered partially charred remains — later identified as Lopez — in the trunk of a Honda Civic, police told KTLA.
The Honda, which was registered to Lopez, “was found burned and abandoned” days earlier in South Central Los Angeles, police told KTTV.
Homicide detectives took up the investigation and a week later executed multiple search warrants, according to police.
After the searches, police said Diaz was arrested, then the district attorney’s office charged her two days later.
In the criminal complaint, officials allege Lopez’s killing “was willful, deliberate and premeditated.” A motive for the alleged killing is unclear.
Diaz is being held on $2 million bail and was scheduled to appear in court Oct 3, jail records show.
An investigation is ongoing, police said.
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 1:30 PM with the headline "Woman’s charred body found in trunk at tow yard, CA officials say. Now an arrest."
