John Jefferson
Inset: Daniel Allen Aldrich (Orange County District Attorney’s Office). Background: Authorities outside the home where Aldrich allegedly killed his girlfriend (KABC).
A 49-year-old man in California is accused of killing his girlfriend, strangling her and slitting her wrists only to leave her bloody body on their couch while he finished watching TV before going to sleep.
Daniel Allen Aldrich was taken into custody last week and charged with one felony count of murder and one felony enhancement for the personal use of a weapon in the slaying of 38-year-old Julie Anne Sanetra, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors allege that on the evening of Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, Aldrich and Sanetra had spent the night drinking and were at their home in the 1900 block of Maple Avenue when they got into an argument. The squabble escalated and became physical, culminating with Aldrich strangling Sanetra “and then slitting her wrists with a folding knife,” prosecutors say.
“Aldrich is accused of leaving Sanetra’s body on the couch while he watched television before going to bed,” the release states. “The next day, Aldrich is accused of dragging Sanetra’s body outside and stuffing her body inside of a trashcan, on the side of the house.”
After disposing of Sanetra’s body, Aldrich allegedly went back inside, packed a travel bag, and then drove to his mother’s home in the 3700 block of El Lado Drive in Glendale, California, which is about 65 miles northwest of his home in Costa Mesa, California.
On Tuesday, Oct. 22, a group of landscapers hired to mow the lawn at Aldrich’s home discovered Sanetra’s body “partially outside of the trashcan when they arrived” and promptly called the Costa Mesa Police Department. The 911 call was placed at about 2:27 p.m., police said.
Authorities learned that Aldrich was at his mother’s home, which is where he was arrested by detectives from Costa Mesa.
If convicted on all of the aforementioned charges, Aldrich will face a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in a state correctional facility.
“Julie Sanetra did not deserve to be strangled and stuffed into a trashcan like a piece of garbage,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “The callousness of this crime shocks the conscience, and we will do everything to get justice for Julie and her loved ones.”
Aldrich is being held in Orange County on bond of $1 million. He is currently scheduled to appear for his arraignment at the Stephen K. Tamura Justice Center in Westminster, California on Nov. 19, 2024.
In an interview with Los Angeles ABC affiliate KABC, Costa Mesa Police Deputy Chief Joyce LaPointe said Aldrich’s house is in a “very nice area” of the city and that alleged crime is something they “don’t see very often.”
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