Ex-wife charged with plotting Yucaipa man's murder

David Olvera, 24, Emilio Saldana, 22, Amy Hillrich, 38 (Booking Photos)

ONTARIO – A 38-year-old Yucaipa woman was arrested Tuesday along with two former co-workers for masterminding the shooting death of her ex-husband.

John Hillrich, 39, of Fontana was shot near the 3200 block of East Guasti Road as he was leaving work shortly after 2 p.m. on Tuesday. He died less than an hour later at San Antonio Hospital, according to the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office.

Ontario police detectives arrested the victim’s ex-wife, Amy Hillrich, 38, of Yucaipa, at 7 p.m. that night. Her two former co-workers at a Yucaipa care facility, 24-year-old David Olvera of Yucaipa and 22-year-old Emilio Saldana of Calimesa, were picked up later that night.

Prosecutors said both men are parolees. Olvera and Amy Hillrich were also reportedly involved in a relationship, according to police.

All three pleaded not guilty to murder charges during an arraignment hearing in West Valley Superior Court.

Investigators claimed the motive for the killing was rooted in the Hillriches’ contentious divorce.

“Amy Hillrich asked Olvera to murder her husband, because John has ruined her life due to a custody battle over their two children,” said a report by investigators.

The Hillriches split in 2004.

During the arraignment hearing, prosecutors outlined the preliminary details of their case.

At the scene of the crime, one witness noted the license plate number of the car in which Olvera and Saldana had allegedly fled while surveillance cameras provided investigators with videotape of the suspects’ car.

Investigators said that bullet casings and other evidence were discovered at the scene. Police said that Olvera was seen with a handgun two hours after the killing.
Detectives also said that Amy Hillrich was in contact with Olvera and Saldana before and after the killing.

Olvera’s criminal record includes use of a firearm in February 2008, according to court records. He also spent time in state prison for having sex with a minor.

Saldana spent two years in state prison for residential burglary. He was also charged with felony possession of methamphetamine, according to court records.

John Hillrich was a regional vice president for SuperMedia LLC, which offers online advertising and publishes Yellow Pages telephone books.

Amy Hillrich was a nurse at Braswell’s Hampton Manor in Yucaipa, where she met Olvera and Saldana when they were all employed at that facility.

All three suspects were at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. No bail had yet been set.