Woman Arrested in Lake Elsinore Triple Murder: Police

LAKE ELSINORE, CA - A woman has been arrested as the third suspect in a Lake Elsinore triple-murder that happened last year, sheriffs officials announced Wednesday.

According to officials, 27-year-old Kayla Arevalo has been tied to the Aug. 2, 2016 gang-related attack that left 55-year-old Cameron Craven, 57-year-old Robert Kushner and 31-year-old Rachel Rupp dead. The Rialto resident was arrested on Jan. 17 for three counts of homicide and several associated felonies, according to Sgt. Wallace Clear of the Lake Elsinore Police Department.

Arevalo's arrest is in addition to the previous charges filed against 33- year-old Saul Arevalo and 38-year-old Mario Lopez, two ex-convicts accused of gunning down three Lake Elsinore residents in August. The men were arrested on Dec. 28 following a months-long investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department into the slayings.

It wasn't immediately clear what part Kayla Arevalo played in the attack or her connection to Saul Arevalo.

"This investigation is on-going and no further information will be released at this time," the sheriff's department said in regards to the woman's arrest.

Clear said Saul Arevalo and Lopez were identified as the alleged perpetrators in December and were located in the Central Jail in San Bernardino, where Saul Arevalo was being held on suspicion of gang activity and being a convicted felon in possession of illegal drugs and a firearm.

Lopez was serving time for domestic violence.

The pair was questioned and arrested while in custody, Clear said.

Each defendant is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of criminal street gang activity, with special circumstance allegations of taking multiple lives in the same crime and killing for the benefit of a criminal street gang.

According to Clear, the victims were found about 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 2 at a residence in the 31000 block of Wisconsin Street. Each occupant had been shot to death.

The reasons they were targeted were not disclosed.

According to court records, both Saul Arevalo and Lopez have served time in state prison within the last five years.

Arevalo's prior convictions include being a felon in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of ammunition and receiving stolen property.

In addition to domestic violence, Lopez has prior convictions for theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm, court records showed.

– City News Service contributed to this report / Image via Riverside County Sheriff's Department