Boyfriend arrested on suspicion of girlfriend's near-decapitation death

Federal marshals working with Mexican authorities on Dec. 9 arrested a transient suspected of killing his girlfriend, Kassandra Ochoa, 21, on Nov. 21 in East Los Angeles.

Antonio Medina, a 28-year-old Latino, was arrested in Mexico's Nayarit state and was left in the custody of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department homicide investigators on Dec. 10, according to a department news release.

Medina was booked into the sheriff's San Dimas station on suspicion of murder and a no-bail warrant for a probation violation, according to the release.

Witnesses reported that Ochoa was last seen arguing with Medina about 11 p.m. on Nov. 21, as the two were entering a vacant apartment in the 470 block of South Sydney Drive. When the apartment owner went to check on the couple, she saw Ochoa lying on the floor bleeding and a man standing nearby. 

The man fled when the landlord called 911. 

Los Angeles County coroner's records said Ochoa was struck in the head with a hammer and a saw, and suffered "near complete decapitation" as well as multiple blows to the head. 

Investigators received numerous tips, which led to Medina's arrest, according to the news release. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.