IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Cops: Man killed girlfriend, lived with corpse

An Arizona man who confessed to killing his girlfriend and living with her decomposing corpse in his one-bedroom apartment for two months has been arrested and charged with second degree murder, police said.
/ Source: Reuters

An Arizona man confessed to killing his girlfriend and living with her decomposing corpse in his one-bedroom apartment for two months, police said.

Erik C. Grumpelt, 35, was arrested on Monday and charged with second-degree murder, the Mesa Police Department said in a news release.

Police said he told them he had repeatedly struck his girlfriend, Malinda Raya, 39, in the lower abdomen after she said she had cheated on him.

Officers discovered the woman's badly decomposed body on the bedroom floor of the apartment, covered in several sheets.

There were several room fresheners found in the bedroom, and powder, believed to be carpet freshener, was sprinkled on the area around where the victim lay.

Grumpelt told investigators he assaulted Raya on the morning of May 19, striking her several times in the lower abdominal area while laying on their bed, police said. He left for a short period of time and when he returned, she was unresponsive, according to investigators.

Grumpelt said he was angry because Raya had told him she had cheated on him with other men in his bed, police said.