Coroner IDs Woman Found Dead in Car Near Whitewater

BANNING, CA- Coroner's officials identified Tuesday a woman whose body was recently discovered east of Cabazon in a vehicle.

37-year-old Rosemary Barrasa of Bloomington was found dead on Thursday in a car that was off eastbound I-10, at Whitewater cutoff road, according to coroner's and sheriff's officials.

CHP had originally been set to the scene in the early morning hours when the vehicle was first discovered, thinking it was a crash site. However, once there, officials found what were described as "obvious signs of trauma" on the woman's body, and they turned the investigation over to sheriff's officials, according to Sgt. Jeff Buompensiero.

SEE ALSO:

• Murder Investigators Called to Scene of I-10 'Crash' Site: Sheriff's Office
• Man Arrested in Connection with Woman's Suspicious Death Near Cabazon

A man who was seen walking away from the vehicle, 39-year-old Rigoberto Villanueva of Fontana, was detained by CHP and ultimately arrested on charges of murder and assault, according to Buompensiero and jail records.

The cause of death was not released by the sheriff's department, nor was the defendant's connection to the victim, but the criminal complaint states that the murder weapon was a screwdriver. Jail booking records also indicate Villanueva is being held on a charge of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, indicating the two were involved with one another.

The District Attorney's office charged Villanueva with murder on Monday, and he's set to be arraigned on Friday at the Banning courthouse.