Traffic stop leads California law enforcement to two homicide victims | California
Northern California law enforcement officers pulled over the driver of a Chevrolet Suburban for a suspected registration violation on Easter Sunday morning and encountered a grisly scene that ultimately led them to two murder victims.
The California Highway Patrol said in a statement that two people, the driver of the vehicle and a passenger, were arrested in connection with the murders. The passenger tried to flee when officers stopped the SUV in Clearlake, about 100 miles northeast of San Francisco, but was immediately taken into custody, according to the CHP.
John Pinoli, chief of the CHP’s northern division, said at a news conference Wednesday that the officers who conducted the stop saw a large amount of blood in the vehicle. They found an unresponsive man in the rear passenger area and he was later pronounced dead.
Officers also found a gun near where the passenger tried to escape, and investigators soon encountered another victim, a woman found dead on an embankment miles away.
“What started as a routine traffic stop quickly turned into a complex investigation,” Pinoli said.
Authorities identified the suspects as Alex Kenneth Schussolin, 37, and Jasslynn Pearl Critchett, 32, both of Clearlake, and said they believe the incident began in Sonoma County before moving to Lake County, where officers stopped the couple. They face charges of murder and car theft, among others.
lake county sheriff’s office and district attorney identified the victims To the media as Desiree Fuentes and Terry Harris from Sonoma County.
On GoFundMe, Fuentes’ daughter said she was coming to paint eggs with her family over the weekend, but she didn’t show up and her children couldn’t reach her. Her daughter wrote that Fuentes was “the sweetest social butterfly you could ever meet” and was “loved by everyone.”
Authorities have not yet released additional information about the events leading up to the murders. District Attorney Susan Krones said: Lake County News Investigators believe the victims and suspects met for the first time Sunday and have not previously established any connection between the four.
The vehicle Critchett and Schussolin were driving was in the “legal possession” of Fuentes and Harris when CHP officers stopped them, Krones said. They will face a severe penalty if found guilty.
“They are both looking at life without parole,” he told the outlet.
