Arrest Made In 2016 Kirk Kimberly Killing: Sonoma County Sheriff

ROHNERT PARK, CA — An arrest has been made in the 2016 killing of a Cotati 18-year-old whose body was found buried in a shallow grave on the campus of Sonoma State University. Daniel Carrillo, 20, of Rohnert Park, has been charged with homicide in the death of Kirk Kimberly, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said Monday morning.

Kimberly was initially reported missing Oct. 17, 2016, to the Cotati Police Department.

Kimberly's body was discovered Nov. 2, 2016, by a landscaper who was removing brush about 200 yards from a parking lot on the campus, sheriff's officials said at the time.

A forensic pathologist determined during the autopsy that Kimberly died of multiple stab wounds.

"For the past three years, Violent Crime detectives have been conducting follow-up interviews and reviewing physical and forensic evidence," Sonoma County sheriff's Sgt. Juan Valencia said Monday. "Homicide investigations are time-consuming and detailed."

Carrillo was in the custody of California Youth Authority in Stockton but was transferred Feb. 28 to Sonoma County for a separate pending court case, Valencia said.

Upon Carrillo's arrival in Sonoma County, he was interviewed by detectives, then booked into the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of homicide in the death of Kimberly, Valencia said.

"They knew each other, and cellphone data placed Carrillo at the time and location of the homicide," Valencia said.

Carrillo remained in custody Monday at Sonoma County jail, where he is being held without bail.

Further details about what led to Carrillo's arrest in the case were not immediately disclosed.

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Bay City News Service contributed to this report.