Woman From Castaic Found Slain in Desert
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The charred body of a woman found in the desert 50 miles north of Las Vegas earlier this month was identified Monday as that of a legal secretary from Castaic missing since Aug. 2, authorities said.
Gloria “Chris” Cole, 59, disappeared after leaving a law firm in downtown Los Angeles to catch a Santa Clarita Transit bus to Castaic. Her live-in boyfriend disappeared about the same time, authorities said.
On Wednesday, David Chen, 55, turned up in a Canoga Park motel room and shot himself in the head as police approached to ask him why he was driving Cole’s car.
At 3:57 a.m. Aug. 11, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received a call about a fire next to the road along Nevada Route 168, about two miles west of Interstate 15, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Rick Myers.
He said a passing motorist notified authorities, who found the body of a woman who had been shot and set afire.
The law firm where Cole worked had offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to her safe return.
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