Man arrested on suspicion of murder in Weaverville woman’s death

“On October 31, 2020 at 12:09 AM, it was reported to the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office that a female may be in need of Medical Aide, at a residence in Weaverville, CA. Deputies responded to the scene and immediately confirmed that the female was deceased and identified her as Loretta McGrath of Weaverville, CA (hereafter referred to as the decedent).

Deputies began to process the scene and contacted Detectives based on several potentially suspicious observations.

Detectives responded as well and assisted in gathering initial statements and processing evidence. At the conclusion of the night’s events, the decedent’s cause of death was not immediately determinable.

In the following days and leading up to the autopsy of the decedent, members of the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit attempted to gather additional information which may have been relevant to the investigation.

During the autopsy which had occurred on November 4, 2020, a Pathologist observed internal signs of manual strangulation on the decedent. The Pathologist ruled the decedent’s cause of death a homicide based on the strangulation.

On November 7, 2020, Deputies arrested Christopher Avila of Weaverville, CA on an out of county warrant through Shasta County. Detectives had already identified Avila as a person of interest in the case regarding the decedent.

During an interview with Avila, which had occurred on 11/7/2020, Avila admitted his involvement in the incident which led to the decedent’s death.

Although the investigation is ongoing, Avila remains in custody at the Trinity County Jail for the below charges.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 530-623-8106.”