Grecia Veronica Ayala, 30

Grecia Veronica Ayala, a 30-year-old Latina, was killed Friday June 23, in the 12800 block of South Stoneacre Avenue in Compton, according to authorities. 

The cause of death has not yet been determined, but investigators believe she was strangled, based on the ligature marks found around her neck, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Rodney Moore. 

Ayala, the mother of four children ages 5 to 15, was found wrapped in a comforter in the small house where she lived with her husband, Luis Ernesto Villanueva, Moore said. 

Her parents live in a house on the front of the property, and Villanueva walked there about 2 a.m. that morning, to tell them "he wanted to show them something," according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. 

When the parents walked into Ayala's house, they found her unresponsive and called 911, Moore said. 

Villanueva, 39, was arrested about an hour later, and is being held in lieu of $2-million bail, according to jail records. 

Moore said three of Ayala's children were in the front house with her parents. Her 15-year-old son was in the house where she died, authorities told The Times, but it is unclear whether he saw the incident.

On June 28, Villanueva pleaded not guilty to murder, according to a news release from the district attorney's office.  His next court hearing is set for July 12 in County Superior Court,  Compton branch.  

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

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.