SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — A 28-year-old woman was behind bars Thursday on suspicion of fatally shooting a woman whose body was found dumped in a Chula Vista Field nearly three months ago.
Vanesa Gastellu was arrested on suspicion of killing 23-year-old Christina Garcia, whose body was discovered around 6:30 a.m. Aug. 5 by a person walking a trail in a brushy field behind a Smart & Final store in the 3100 block of Main Street, Chula Vista police Lt. Miriam Foxx said.
The alleged shooter was arrested with assistance from the U.S. Marshal's San Diego Regional Fugitive Task Force, but the arrest location was not disclosed.
Foxx also did not disclose a suspected motive in the slaying, nor how investigators identified Gastellu as a suspect.
Gastellu was booked into the Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility Tuesday night on suspicion of murder and felony child cruelty, according to jail records. She was being held without bail pending her arraignment, scheduled for Oct. 30.
Details about the child cruelty charge were not immediately available. Investigators were continuing to try to locate potential witnesses.
Anyone with information about the homicide was urged to call the San Diego County Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 888-580-8477.
