Charito Vega Tolentino, 57

Charito Vega Tolentino, a 57-year-old Asian female, was found dead Sunday, Jan. 13, of blunt-force trauma and "stabbing-type injuries" in the parking lot of a casino in Hawaiian Gardens, according to authorities. They believe she was killed at her home in West Covina and then moved.

Tolentino's body was found in her abandoned red Toyota RAV4 the day after her husband, Tomas Infante, reported her missing to the West Covina Police Department. Tolentino, who worked as a nurse, got off work Friday morning and didn’t return home, Infante said at the time.

On January 14, sheriff's investigators arrested Infante, a 60-year-old Asian man, in connection with his wife's death. The arrest came after investigators served a search warrant at his home and allegedly found evidence connecting him to his wife’s death, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies told The Times they believe Infante killed Tolentino at their home, put her body in the back of the car and abandoned it at the casino. Family members discovered the vehicle as they searched for her at various locations.

Prosecutors have charged Infante with his wife's murder. If convicted, the district attorney's office said, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Infante is being held at L.A. County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.

-- Kate Mather

Photo: Tomas Infante. Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department