Carmen Montelongo

Case record: Carmen Montelongo

Background

Carmen Montelongo was a Riverside woman who was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2011 stabbing death and dismemberment of her 62-year-old boyfriend, Samuel Wiggins. She was also known as Carmen Montenegro, and charging documents in the case listed her last name as Montenegro while authorities said they believed her true last name was Montelongo and that a judge would determine her identity at a future court hearing.

Samuel Wiggins, of Diamond Bar, had been reported missing by his family in early May after he was last seen around April 20.

The offence

Montelongo killed Samuel Wiggins in his home in Diamond Bar. Investigators found that Wiggins was stabbed to death in his home—twice in the chest and 22 times in the back.

After the stabbing, Montelongo dismembered Wiggins’ body. She placed his head and arms in potted plants, which were later found in Bell Gardens. She buried the legs and torso in Ontario at the home where she was apprehended.

Investigation

More than five weeks after Wiggins was reporting missing by his family, Montelongo was caught by police officers as she moved some of his remains in a garbage can through a residential neighborhood in Ontario.

During the investigation into Wiggins’ disappearance, Montelongo told police she was regularly in contact with him.

Investigators from the Ontario Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department found that Wiggins was stabbed to death in his home in Diamond Bar—twice in the chest and 22 times in the back.

Investigators found that Wiggins’ head and arms were discovered four days after Montelongo’s arrest inside large flower pots at a house rented by Montelongo’s cousin in Bell Gardens, about 36 miles away from the Ontario home where other body parts were reportedly buried.

At a pretrial hearing in October 2012, witnesses told the court Montelongo exhumed Wiggins’ remains from a hole in the backyard of a home near the location of her arrest. The testimony stated that she casually tossed body parts into a trash can and covered them with dirt.

Prosecutors said they would not file criminal charges against the two adult children of the woman accused of killing and dismembering her ex-boyfriend and wheeling some of the parts down a Southern California street in a 30-gallon trash can. Authorities believed Montelongo killed Wiggins at his home in Diamond Bar and then transported the remains to her relative’s home in Ontario, where she buried the body parts.

Investigators also discovered carpet at a home in Riverside where Montelongo was renting storage space. The carpet was described as being in a large cardboard box used to deliver a sofa and was believed to have come from the victim’s house.

Investigators pursued several theories for motive and continued to investigate. Authorities had surveillance video showing Montelongo using credit and ATM cards belonging to Wiggins after he disappeared, and Montelongo also used Wiggins’ car in the days after his disappearance.

Authorities also considered that Montelongo told police she had been sexually abused as a possible motive.

Arrest

Police arrested Montelongo on May 29, 2011, in Ontario after she was found transporting a trash can containing parts of a human body, believed to belong to Wiggins.

She was arrested about 200 yards from the home after neighbors reported her pushing a trash can containing body parts down a street in Ontario.

Police found a torso and legs at the address, which was described as the home of some of Montenegro’s relatives.

Trial

On April 20, 2011, Carmen Montelongo, also known as Carmen Montenegro, pleaded not guilty in West Valley Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga to murdering Samuel Wiggins Jr. of Diamond Bar. He was 62 at the time of his death.

A jury trial was scheduled to restart on Feb. 13 with a pretrial hearing, and the jury trial was expected to begin Feb. 24.

Judge Gregory Tavill granted a mistrial on Wednesday in the Ontario killing and dismembering case. The defense sought the mistrial, and the prosecution objected. A jury had already been selected.

A mistrial had been granted in the case in January.

Montelongo was convicted Aug. 29 of first-degree murder in the 2011 stabbing death and dismemberment of her boyfriend, Samuel Wiggins.

At sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Erica Gallegos said: “We are pleased that the jury saw the case for what it was — a heinous crime — and that justice was served for the victim and his family,” in a news release.

Sentencing

Montelongo was sentenced Monday to 26 years to life in state prison on September 29, 2014.

Appeals

No appeal information was included in the provided material.

Outcome

Montelongo was convicted of first-degree murder for the 2011 stabbing death and dismemberment of Samuel Wiggins and received a sentence of 26 years to life in prison.

Other details

Matthew Bell testified at a pretrial hearing in October 2012. He was described as Montelongo’s second cousin. His testimony stated that he saw Montelongo exhuming remains from a hole in the backyard of a home near the location of her arrest and that she threw body parts in a trash can and covered them with dirt.

Matthew Bell also said he offered $5,000 to help dispose of the remains, and Bell went to call police while Montelongo followed him with the trash can, still pleading for help.

David Hidalgo, supervisor of the district attorney’s family violence unit, said the head and arms were found four days after Montelongo’s arrest inside large flower pots at a house rented by Montelongo’s cousin in Bell Gardens. Hidalgo also said it was hard to comprehend that someone could be “so callous and pushing body parts down the street in a trash can like it was nothing.” He also said: “She was desperate and she was looking for people to help her dispose of the body.”

Deputy District Attorney Erica Gallegos was described as declining to say why authorities did not charge the two adult children. She said she declined to comment on the specifics of the mistrial because the case was going forward with a new jury and that disclosures could possibly taint the new jury.

The two adult children were described as Daniel Ortiz, 25, and Chanel Alicia Ortiz, 26, both of Riverside. They were arrested earlier in the week on suspicion of helping their mother dispose of the remains and were to be released from a San Bernardino County jail as early as Friday evening.