Hemet man to stand trial for allegedly killing his girlfriend
A Hemet man accused of killing his girlfriend and keeping her body in his SUV until he was located by police hours later must stand trial on a murder charge, a judge ruled Monday.
Vincent James Marples, 34, was arrested in January for allegedly killing 32-year-old Cassandra Taylor, whose remains were located in his Ford Explorer.
Following a preliminary hearing at the Banning Justice Center, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Randall White found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on the first-degree murder count, as well as a special circumstance allegation of inflicting torture in the commission of a murder.
White scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Oct. 10. Marples is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
According to Hemet police Lt. Eddie Pust, officers were alerted on the afternoon of Jan. 24 that Marples had called a relative stating that Taylor was dead and that he was with her, without disclosing where.
“The caller was able to provide a vehicle description and a general area that Marples frequents,” Pust said.
A county sheriff’s helicopter crew was requested to assist patrol officers in searching for the SUV, according to the lieutenant. Nearly two hours later, the air unit spotted the Ford Explorer on a hillside southeast of the intersection of Gibbel Road and State Street. Officers took the defendant
into custody without incident and found Taylor’s body in the back of the vehicle, Pust said.
“Further investigation revealed that an altercation occurred between the two subjects, who were at the location sometime within the past 24 hours,” Pust said then. “The altercation resulted in the death of Taylor.”
Her exact cause of death was not disclosed.
According to court records, Marples has prior misdemeanor convictions for domestic violence, driving under the influence and manufacturing an illegal firearm. He also has several other felony cases pending in Riverside County Superior Court for alleged witness intimidation and making terrorist threats.
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