By SDCN Staff
San Diego, CA–San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced Wednesday that a 48-year-old man has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the murder of his former girlfriend, whose body has never been found.
A jury convicted Eduardo Magana in November of second-degree murder in the death of 33-year-old Alexis Berenice Guadarrama Orozco.
Prosecutors said Magana met Guadarrama at the Star Motel in Otay Mesa on July 15, 2023. In the early morning hours of July 16, he was seen loading a large, heavy object into the trunk of his car. Around the same time, Guadarrama’s communication with friends and family abruptly stopped. Magana was arrested three days later in Bell Gardens, near Los Angeles.
Investigators believe the victim’s remains are somewhere in Southern California. Stephan and San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl urged the public to come forward with any information that could help locate them.
“Even though we have obtained a measure of justice with the murder conviction and today’s sentencing, a true semblance of closure and dignity will come when the victim’s remains are returned to her grieving family,” Stephan said in a statement. “I am grateful to our prosecution team and the San Diego Police Department detectives who solved this case.”
While prosecutions in no-body homicide cases are uncommon, authorities noted that hundreds of such convictions have occurred nationwide in recent decades due to advances in forensic and digital evidence.
Deputy District Attorneys Justine Santiago and Jennifer Crampton prosecuted the case with assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477. Click here for information on how to send a web or mobile app tip.
