East valley murder suspect appears in court, held on no bail
A man and woman arrested in connection with the murder of a Victorville woman whose body was found near Coachella in June appeared in court Monday morning.
San Diego resident Alexis Daniel Rosas, 24, and Indio resident Maury Duarte, 29 made their appearance for the felony settlement conference at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
According to the felony complaint sent to News Channel 3 by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Rosas shot Makayla Jean Massey because she was the witness of a crime.
News Channel 3 spoke with Massey’s stepfather two weeks ago, who positively identified her as the homicide victim. Massey had reportedly been living under the alias of ‘Deaija Lopez”, and was initially identified by one of her in-laws, who she had been living with locally. This alias, as well as the name ‘Anita G’ were confirmed by the felony complaint against Duarte and Rosas, but the coroner’s office did not officially identify her as Makayla Massey until her stepfather came forward.
County jail records also show that Rosas also faces one felony count of violation of state parole, a misdemeanor count of obstructing a public officer, a misdemeanor count of making unauthorized paper money, and a misdemeanor identity theft count.
According to the case’s criminal complaint, Duarte faces a charge for aiding and harboring Rosas. She is being held on $1,000,000 bail.
Duarte and Rosas are set to return to court on August 23 for a preliminary hearing.
PREVIOUS STORY: Two arrested in connection with murder of woman near Coachella
Massey’s body was found on the 82600 block of Avenue 53, near Monroe Street on June 25 at around 6:00 a.m. Avenue 53 was closed between Monroe Street and Jackson Street for at least 13 hours deputies investigated. The woman’s body was found on the shoulder of the roadway.
According to county jail records, Maury and Rosas were both taken into custody on Monday at 10:30 p.m. at a location on Avenue 42 in Indio.
ORIGINAL STORY: Body found near Coachella, investigators on scene for 12 hours
The investigation is active; anyone with information on this incident is urged to contact Investigator Bishop with the Central Homicide Unit at 951-955-2777.
