Tinder use may have led to man’s murder

RIVERSIDE – An investigation into an “At-Risk” missing adult and human remains found on a private, residential property in the 21800 block of Old Elsinore Road, in the unincorporated area of Mead Valley have led to murder charges against three Mead Valley residents.

The missing man, who was identified as 28-year-old Samuel Joel Galvan, was last seen Sunday, Sept. 11, when he left his house in the Orangecrest neighborhood of Riverside.

Galvan, who reportedly had difficulty sleeping at night and was known to take late-night trips to local stores, reportedly left his residence around 2 a.m. and never returned home. His car was located in Corona five days after his disappearance.

According to one of Galvan’s family members, who requested be identified as Claudia Renard, Riverside Police Department’s case progressed as they began to go through Galvan’s phone and internet use records.

This tragic incident happened after “he met a girl on Tinder.” Renard explained. “Samuel was pushing the girl to meet him in person.”

Tinder is a location-based social search service application that provides communication between mutually interested users, allowing matched users to chat. The app is commonly used as a dating services app.

According to Renard, the girl, who is reportedly in her 20’s but has not yet been publicly identified and whose age has not been verified, decided to “invite him over so they could teach him a lesson.”

“They then tortured him,” Renard explained. “I don’t know why they thought they needed to teach him a lesson.”

“The cops tracked the phone records to the girl and she told them the whole story,” according to Renard.

Following their investigative leads, Riverside police officials served a search warrant at the Old Elsinore Road residence. They were assisted by deputies and investigators from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Perris Station.

During the service of the search warrant, officials located human remains on the property at which time the sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit assumed the investigation.

After they were confronted, “(Rangelayala) and (Ramirez) took the police to the body,” Renard said. “They were both arrested in the field where they burned the body.”

A jail record search revealed both Rangelayala and Ramirez were arrested in an open field in the area of Old Elsinore Road and Orange Avenue. Acosta was arrested a few hours later on Nuevo Road in Perris.

 

The three alleged suspects, identified as Angel Christopher Acosta, 29; Gabriela Rangelayala, 41; and Raymundo Ortega Ramirez, 32; all residents of Mead Valley, were arrested for murder and other charges related to the incident. All three were booked into custody at the Southwest Detention Center, according to Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Walter Mendez.

Riverside Superior Court records showed the District Attorney’s office filed the charge of murder with the special circumstances of inflicting torture and intentional murder against all three suspects. Court records listed Galvan as the victim. The date of the crime was listed as Sept. 11, the day he was last seen as he was leaving his residence.

The three are next scheduled to be seen at Riverside Hall of Justice Nov. 2 in Department 63.

 

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Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.