Missing Man's Remains Found Buried in California Backyard

A man has been charged with murder after the remains of a missing person were found in his Los Angeles backyard.

The remains of Carlos DeLeon, 35, from Guatemala, were found buried in the rear yard of a home in the North Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday, November 21. Information had been received by police that DeLeon was dead and that his body had been buried at the property, leading the LAPD to obtain a search warrant.

"A structure located at the rear of the property was removed from its position," an LAPD spokesperson said in a November 22 statement. "The concrete foundation under the structure was also removed."

"This is a very large property. It's roughly an acre," LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told ABC7 on Tuesday evening. "To the rear of the area near the swimming pool, there were some areas that may have had recent alterations. That is the area where the remains were discovered earlier today."

A photo shared by the LAPD showed a number of police and Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Search and Rescue officials digging in an area of the rear yard.

Russell Robinson, 48, who lived at the home where DeLeon's remains were found, was arrested on a murder charge, the LAPD said. Newsweek has seen that Robinson was booked at the LAPD Valley Jail with no bail.

"There is a connection between the two, and we believe that individual is directly responsible for the homicide that we are now investigating," Hamilton told ABC7.

Police didn't comment on how long DeLeon is believed to have been buried in the rear yard or about his specific cause of death.

The LAPD launched an investigation into his disappearance in mid-June after his friends and family said they hadn't heard from him.

Newsweek has contacted the LAPD for comment via email.

The LAPD recorded 382 city-wide homicides in 2022, which was 20 fewer than the previous year and represented a reduction of about 5 percent. There were 291 homicides that were cleared in 2022, 16 more than in the previous year.

According to a 2022 Crime in California report, there were 2,206 homicides recorded across the Golden State that year. This represented a slight decrease from the 2,361 homicides recorded in 2021.

Anyone with any additional information about DeLeon's death has been asked to contact Valley Bureau Homicide Detective Moselle at (818) 374-9550.

People who wish to remain anonymous should call the LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or go directly to www.lacrimestoppers.org.