Man wanted in death of woman found in Chippewa County is arrested
By Chris Vetter Leader-Telegram staff,
2023-11-24CHIPPEWA FALLS — A man accused of killing a woman three years and stuffing her corpse in a suitcase, which was left at a farm in rural Chippewa County, has been apprehended in a suburb of Kansas City.
Jose E. Dominguez-Garcia, 26, was charged in December 2021 in Chippewa County Court with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child and hiding a corpse. A warrant was issued for his arrest at that time.
The Gladstone, Mo., Police Department announced Thursday that Dominguez-Garcia was arrested at 12:34 a.m. Thursday, after an "automated license plate reader detected a vehicle bearing a stolen plate traveling through the city," a press release states.
The officers located the Red Fusion in a parking lot. The driver had "multiple ID cards on his person, and gave several different names," the press release states.
"Officers eventually determined the individiual was Jose Eduardo Dominguez-Garcia, a 26-year-old Wisconsin resident," the press release states.
When officers realized that Dominguez-Garcia was wanted in the Chippewa County case, he was taken into custoday and taken to the Clay County Detention Center.
Gladstone is a suburb on the north side of Kansas City.
The press release includes a link to a Leader-Telegram article about the case.
Body found in a suiticase
The body of Rosaly Cindy Chavarria Rodriguez, who was 25 at the time she went missing in July 2020, was discovered at a farmhouse in the town of Wheaton on Oct. 14, 2020. She lived in the Lake Delton area.
A DNA profile was used to positively identify the corpse.
Chippewa County Judge James Isaacson signed a warrant for Dominguez-Garcia’s arrest at the time, and the county will extradite him.
The criminal complaint states that authorities were aware Rodriguez went missing and was last seen working at Sprecher’s restaurant in Lake Delton on July 2, 2020. Dominguez-Garcia, who was dating her, picked up her last paycheck on July 23.
Dominguez-Garcia also worked at the restaurant. An officer in the Reedsburg Police Department interviewed Dominguez-Garcia on July 23, 2020. He told the officer they had broken up on July 4, 2020, after he learned she was cheating on him. He was aware that Rosaly was pregnant, and she had told him the father was a different person. He last worked on July 22, 2020, the day before he spoke to officers.
Police located Dominguez-Garcia’s car — a red 2003 Volkswagen Jetta — on Aug. 26, 2020, in Wisconsin Dells. There was a red gelatin substance, and there were dead flies and maggots in the car. The detective “noted that based on his law enforcement training and experience with death investigations that what he was looking at were the fluids released through orifices indicating the beginning of a decaying body that had been in the trunk of the vehicle.
That car was observed on surveillance footage July 23 along 2655 Highway T, where Rodriguez’s body was later discovered.
Medical records show that Rodriguez was seven weeks, five days pregnant at a doctor’s visit June 18, 2020, and had an estimated due date of Jan. 30, 2021.
Her body was found on a vacant farm between 20th Avenue and 30th Avenue, along the Highway T corridor, south of 29 Pines. Officers learned of the body being at the farm during a drug investigation, when an informant told them about it. Police arrived at the farmhouse and located it, stuffed inside a purple suitcase. The body was heavily decomposed. While no identification was with the body, police suspected it was Rodriguez. The deceased body was was wearing black stretch pants and a black T-shirt that read “Sprecher’s Restaurant and Pub,” which is located in Wisconsin Dells. Her long hair fit the description sent out in her missing person profile.
Local reaction to arrest
Retired Chippewa County Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk said it was the only resolved murder case from his tenure as sheriff and he was glad to see an arrest had been made.
"This has been a very intense and long investigation," Kowalczyk said Friday. "A lot of time and effort was put into this investigation by many agencies, and as a result, he will be brought to justice."
Kowalczyk admits he was surprised Dominguez-Garcia was located in the United States.
"All indications in this investigation led us to believe he went back to his country of origin," Kowalczyk said.
Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell said he was pleased to hear of the arrest.
"The victims's family will be thankful that the case can now proceed," Newell said. "Unfortunately, the family has had to wait for the case to proceed because the whereabouts of Mr. Dominguez-Garcia were unknown until now."
Newell added that "the goal of prosecution is to hold offenderss accountable and bring justice to the family," but added that the defendant is still presumed innocent until found guilty.
It is unclear when Dominguez-Garcia will be extradited back to Wisconsin or appear in Chippewa County Court.
"He has the right to an extradition hearing, but he could waive that, too," said Sheriff Travis Hakes. "It will take until the first part of next week until we know. We'll make sure he's transported here safey and securely by law enforcement."
Hakes said the Gladstone Police Department contacted the Chippewa County Sheriff's Department's dispatch center after they apprehended Dominguez-Garcia.
"One of our dispatchers was able to send photographs of hm, and they were able to visually identify him that way," Hakes said. "Our communication center really goes above and beyond."
Like others, Hakes was thrilled that an arrest has been made.
"It's a great day for public safety that we located him," Hakes said.
Comments
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson
CJ Coombs
The HD Post
Jim O’Rear
Michael Wilson
Dianna Carney
Local Dog Rescue Reveals They're in Need of More Foster Homes to Help Save Lives
A dedicated rescue in New England is looking for dog lovers with room in their hearts and homes to help them save furry friends who are in need of a second chance at life. Massachusetts-based Sandy Paws Rescue Inc., a licensed 501(c)(3) nonprofit dog rescue, has issued an urgent call for foster homes for dogs who are in need of a place to call home until their forever family finds them.
Michael Wilson
Wyoming sorority asks court to dismiss lawsuit over transgender inclusion, again
Attorneys for the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority are urging a federal judge to dismiss, once more, a high-profile lawsuit filed by former members over the sorority’s decision to admit a transgender woman, Artemis Langford, at the University of Wyoming.
Comments /