An arrest has been made in the double murder of a justice advocate and a former professional hockey player in upscale Orange County, California.
ABC 7 reports that Jamon Buggs, 44, has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Wendi Miller and Darren Partch last weekend. The suspect was reportedly already in custody on burglary charges when he was identified as a suspect in the double murder, and had been apprehended over the weekend after he allegedly broke into two homes in Irvine with the intent to burglarize them.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Miller, 48, and Partch, 38, were discovered dead in Partch’s Newport beach apartment on Sunday night by his roommate, who reportedly told police he did not recognize Miller. Authorities also said there was no sign of forced entry to the condominium, and the roommate said the door was locked.
According to a Facebook message posted by Miller’s son, her family had been looking for the CEO of a nonprofit agency since Friday night. Her son posted a subsequent message earlier this week saying his mother had been shot, but authorities have not released a cause of death.
Police have not stated a possible motive in the double homicide. According to ABC 7, Buggs shot at a resident of a home he was burglarizing after they interrupted him. At least one of the two burglaries is believed to have taken place after the double murder.
Miller was the CEO of Wings for Justice, a nonprofit advocating for children in the family court system. Friends told the news outlet that she had offered to give Partch, who previously played minor league professional hockey, a ride home early Saturday after they met during a night out in Laguna Beach, and lived close to each other.
Buggs, a personal fitness trainer whose LinkedIn profile says he works at an Equinox gym in Huntington Beach, was already in custody at the Orange County jail when police arrested him for the double murder on Thursday.
The Orange County Register reports that Buggs is being held on $1 million bail.
[Feature image: Jamon Buggs/Orange County Jail; Wendi Miller/Facebook/Darren Partch/Facebook]
