UPDATE: Six arrested after Wildomar man, 31, found dead in Lake Elsinore

August 18, 2019 Trevor Montgomery

UPDATED: Saturday, Sept. 21, 12 p.m., With additional arrest details.

See Original and updated reports below.

LAKE ELSINORE — Authorities investigating the murder of 31-yer-old, Frery “Freddie” Coronel – whose lifeless body was discovered in a ravine in the Cleveland National Forest in the Lake Elsinore area last month – have announced the arrest of six people they say were responsible for the Wildomar man’s death.

Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit investigators and other officials began investigating Coronel’s murder Saturday evening, Aug. 17, after a hiker discovered the man’s body in an open, heavily wooded area west of S. Main Divide, about three and a half miles south of Ortega Highway.

LEADING THE RCNS HEADLINES:
Two San Jacinto teens fatally crushed, 2 others injured in UTV crash
One dead, two hospitalized after Perris attack – one arrested
One dead, one critical, after Lakeview head-on crash

In an Aug. 29 update, Riverside Sheriff’s Sgt. Ben Ramirez reported that during the course of their investigation, CHU investigators developed leads and gathered information that initially led them to identifying Christina Meza, 30, Christian Meza, 28, along with Alejandro Villegas, 25, and Roberto Camacho, 43, as suspects in Coronel’s murder. All four suspects live in the Lake Elsinore area.

Six people have been arrested and charged with the August murder of 31-year-old Frery “Freddie” Coronel, of Wildomar. RSO booking photos

As of that update, both Christina and Christian Meza, along with Villegas, had already been arrested and booked into Murrieta’s Cois Byrd Detention Center on suspicion of murder with gang, kidnapping and torture enhancements, Ramirez reported last August.

“The fourth suspect … Roberto Camacho … is currently in custody out of county, but will be transported to Riverside County and booked for the same charges,” Ramirez explained at the time.

Camacho has since also been arrested and charged with Coronel’s homicide.

As their investigation continued, CHU officials announced earlier this week that they had identified and arrested two additional suspects for Coronel’s murder.

Melissa Elyse Unger, 23, of Lake Elsinore, was arrested on Sept. 11, and Tyrone Jones, 37, of Yorba Linda, was arrested Sept. 19, according to Ramirez.

Both suspects have been booked into Riverside County Jails on murder and other charges.

Officials have not released any known motive for Coronel’s murder.

The sheriff’s investigation remains open, according to Ramirez, who said no further details will be released at this time.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to immediately contact Central Homicide Investigator Manjarrez at (951) 955-2777, or Lake Elsinore Sheriff Station Investigator Gilbert at (951) 245-3300. Callers can refer to incident file number F192290050 and can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s Homicide Tipline online form.

UPDATED: Tuesday, Aug. 20, 3 p.m., With Sheriff’s release of victim’s identity.

UPDATE: Wildomar victim, 31, ID’d after found dead in Lake Elsinore

See Original Report below.

LAKE ELSINORE — Sheriff’s officials today identified a man whose lifeless body was discovered in a ravine in the Cleveland National Forest in the Lake Elsinore area Saturday evening, Aug. 17. The victim’s body was found by a hiker in an open area west of S. Main Divide, about three and a half miles south of Ortega Highway.

In a brief update to an earlier press release that offered no other details to the sheriff’s ongoing investigation, Riverside Sheriff’s Sgt. Ben Ramirez said officials had identified the victim as Frery Coronel, 31, of Wildomar. Friends of the deceased man said the victim went by the name “Freddie.”

Original Report: Man remains unidentified after found dead in Lake Elsinore

LAKE ELSINORE — Officials are working to identify a man whose lifeless body was found in a ravine in the Cleveland National Forest in the Lake Elsinore area Saturday evening, Aug. 17.

Sheriff’s deputies and Central Homicide Unit investigators were summoned to the scene after a hiker discovered the victim’s body in an open area west of S. Main Divide, about three and a half miles south of Ortega Highway.

LEADING THE RCNS HEADLINES:
Three dead after Beaumont shooting – Murder/suicide suspected
157 arrested during MoVal “Zero Tolerance – Saturation Patrol”
Wanted felon arrested in Hemet after month-long investigation

Deputies from the Lake Elsinore Sheriff Station responded to the scene at 7:55 p.m., Riverside Sheriff’s Sgt. Ben Ramirez has since reported.

According to Ramirez, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department had initially responded to reports of a man’s body found in a ditch and pronounced the victim deceased upon their arrival.

“Based on trauma found on the victim, a crime scene was secured, and the Central Homicide Unit responded,” Ramirez explained.

As their investigation was getting underway, deputies, homicide investigators, and technicians from the department’s Forensic Service Unit could be seen searching the area; documenting, photographing, and collecting evidence related to the discovery.

The area was described as forested, with heavy underbrush, making recovery of the man’s body by coroner’s officials difficult.

The victim has not been identified at this time, according to the Sgt.

The Sheriff’s investigation is active and ongoing and officials have not released any further information at this time.

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information is available.

Click any image to open full-size gallery.

RVC News photos

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he currently writes for or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, the (now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor 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, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 29 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.