BREAKING: Murrieta Man Who Killed Wife, A Police Officer, Convicted of Murder

A 29-year-old Murrieta man who gunned down his police officer wife and then set their house ablaze to cover up the crime was convicted Wednesday of second-degree murder.

Freddy Perez Rodas could face 49 years to life behind bars for the July 23, 2014, slaying of 25-year-old Laura Perez, an Escondido police officer and mother of the defendant’s now-5-year-old daughter.

He’s scheduled to be sentenced by Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Monterosso on Dec. 4.

MORE COVERAGE:

• Police: Murrieta Man Killed Wife, an Escondido Cop
• Murder, Arson Charges Filed Against Murrieta Man
• Trial Set for Murrieta Man Accused of Killing Spouse
• Deliberations Begin in Trial of Accused Cop Killer

A Murrieta jury deliberated nearly two days before returning a guilty verdict on the murder count, as well as arson and a sentence-enhancing gun use allegation.

The defendant shot his wife in the chest three times during a domestic dispute in their two-story residence at 24562 Grand Oaks Court, according to police and prosecutors. He transported her body to a Moreno Valley storage locker, where he hid the remains, then returned to the house and set fire to it.

Murrieta Fire Department crews arrived minutes later and quickly extinguished the flames, immediately identifying the cause of the blaze as arson.

Murrieta police Lt. Tony Conrad said Rodas, who called to report the fire, had also reported his wife missing, indicating she might still be in the house. The story raised suspicions, and Rodas was detained for questioning, during which he “admitted killing his wife and burning the location in an attempt to cover up the crime,” Conrad said.

The defendant, who has no prior felony convictions, led detectives to where he had left his wife’s body.

The couple’s daughter, Suzeth, was not harmed during the shooting and subsequent fire. She is now in the care of her maternal grandmother.

Perez had been a law enforcement officer for just under two years.

--City News Service.