Suspect in Coma After Woman’s Body Found

An Irvine man remained in a coma Wednesday, a day after he was found unconscious in his car by police who had hours before found his girlfriend’s body in the apartment they shared, authorities said.

James H. Speights Jr. is a suspect in the death of Zeselinda Zill, 50, whose body police found in the couple’s home in the 60th block of Murica Aisle on Tuesday, police said.

Speights, 47, was not at the apartment when police entered to make a welfare check on Zill in response to a call.

A few hours later, Speights was found in his car, which was parked a few miles away at a Tustin apartment complex.

Speights was barely conscious and had no obvious injuries, authorities said. He was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where he remains in a coma.

Preliminary evidence suggests that Zill was beaten before her death. Witnesses described Speights as Zill’s live-in boyfriend.

He became a suspect based on interviews with neighbors and friends and further investigation, police said.