8th Arrest Made After Body Found Dumped Off Ortega Highway

MURRIETA, CA — Nearly a year after the body of a 31-year-old Wildomar man was found dumped off the Ortega Highway, another arrest has been made in the killing — the eighth since the grisly discovery was made.

Dean Marcum, 41, of Lake Elsinore was arrested at a home in the 34000 block of Antelope Road in Murrieta around 9 p.m. Tuesday, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department announced.

He is suspected in the killing death of Frery Coronel, whose body was found Aug. 17 by a hiker in an open area west of S. Main Divide, about 3.5 miles south of Ortega Highway, according to the sheriff's department.

"Based on trauma found on the victim, a crime scene was secured, and the Central Homicide Unit responded," the sheriff's department reported. The manner of Coronel's death has not been disclosed.

According to jail records, Marcum was booked into Robert Presley Detention Center on charges of first-degree murder, murder in commission of a kidnapping, murder with intent, and being a street gang member.

No bail has been set for him.

It's not clear what led investigators to Marcum. He is the eighth arrest in the case. Christian Meza, 28, Alejandro Villegas, 25, and Christina Meza, 30 — all of Lake Elsinore — were arrested Aug. 27 and booked on suspicion of murder, according to the sheriff's department.

According to jail records, Christian Meza and Villegas remain in custody with no bail set. Each is also charged with gang membership, among other charges.

The other arrests include Roberto Camacho, 44, who was picked up Aug. 30 in Wildomar; Melissa Unger, 24, of Lake Elsinore, who was taken into custody Sept. 10; Tyrone Jones, 37, of Yorba Linda, who was nabbed Sept. 23; and Victor Lindzy, 49, of Lake Elsinore, who was arrested Sept. 25. All were booked on suspicion of murder and gang membership with no bail set, according to jail records.