Court appearance for woman accused of dismembering boyfriend

by Lee Brown , July 20, 2011

RANCHO CUCAMONGA – Attorneys for a Jurupa Valley woman accused of murdering and dismembering her boyfriend appeared in court Tuesday seeking discovery information from the police investigation.

A brief hearing was held on behalf of Carmen Montelongo, 44, who appeared in court. Montelongo is accused of killing Samuel Wiggins, 63, in either April or May at his Meadow Falls Drive home in Diamond Bar and then dismembering his body.

Carmen Montenegro - Murder suspect Mugshot - Ontario PD

West Valley Superior Court Judge Michael Libutti set Aug. 17 as the next court date so that authorities can get a final coroner’s report and other data that Montelongo’s attorney, Rebecca Taft, requested.

The hearing was to inform Libutti of the progress for each side.

Montelongo, who has also gone by the last name of Montenegro, has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say she killed Wiggins for his credit cards, which she reportedly used after his death. Police believe that Montelongo stabbed Wiggins to death before dismembering his body.

The case was brought to the attention of authorities when Montelongo was seen on May 29 wheeling a trash can down an Ontario city street that contained partial body parts belonging to Wiggins. Reports stated that Montelongo cut off Wiggins’ head and arms and hid body parts in large flower pots that she brought to a relative’s home in Bell Gardens in early May.

Prosecutors say Montelongo buried the remainder of Wiggins’ remains in the backyard of a relative’s home in the 700 block of North Holmes Avenue in Ontario. She was arrested when she returned to that home, dug out Wiggins’ body parts and loaded the partial remains into the trash can.

It was a family member, reportedly a cousin, who called police after witnessing Montelongo remove the body parts from that Ontario residence.

Law enforcement investigators from both San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties are involved in the investigation. San Bernardino County Deputy District Attorney Erica Gallegos told Libutti that she is still waiting for a final coroner’s report along with a report into Wiggins’ finances.

Taft told the court that her client goes by both names, Montenegro and Montelongo, which are the last names of both her mother and father.

Montelongo’s son, Daniel Ortiz, 25, and her daughter, Chanel Alicia Ortiz, 26, both of Riverside, were also arrested in early June and face charges of accessory to murder in the case, police said.

Police believe that Daniel Ortiz helped his mother delivered two large flower pots to the Bell Gardens residence, one containing Wiggins’ head and the other containing his arms. Information on Chanel Ortiz’s involvement has not been reported.

Montelongo remains in custody without bail at West Valley Detention Center.