UPDATE: Found dead in Mountain Center with “unexplained injuries”, local woman, 46, ID’d

December 26, 2021 Trevor Montgomery

UPDATED: Monday, Dec. 27, 8:22 a.m.

See Original Story below.

MOUNTAIN CENTER, Calif., — Officials have released the name of a woman whose lifeless body was discovered on a large property in the Mounter Center area early Thursday evening, Dec. 23.

Although officials initially suspected the woman’s death was the result of a fatal traffic collision, their investigation quickly led them to redirecting their focus on the case as a suspicious death when the victim was found to have died from what they previously described as “unexplained injuries”.

Officials have declined to specify the nature of the woman’s death, but the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office today identified Jodi Newkirk, a 46-year-old Mountain Center resident, as the woman who was found deceased.

No further details have been released in the sheriff’s investigation, which is active and ongoing.

Anyone with further information regarding this investigation is encouraged to call Master Investigator Loureiro of the Central Homicide Unit Station at (951) 955-277 or Investigator Rinkert of the Hemet Sheriff’s Station at (951) 791-3400. Callers can refer to incident file number D213570038 and can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s Homicide Tipline online form.

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Original Story: Investigation continuing after woman’s body found in Mountain Center with “unexplained injuries”

MOUNTAIN CENTER, Calif., — What was initially believed to be a traffic collision-related fatality has transitioned into a suspicious death investigation after a woman’s lifeless body was discovered in the Mountain Center area early Thursday evening, Dec. 23.

Although few details have been released, officials say the victim’s body was found “with unexplained injuries” on a large private property in the 58000 block of Bonita Vista Road near Apple Canyon Road, about five miles east of the junction of Hwy. 74 and Hwy. 243.

LEADING THE RCNS HEADLINES:
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Perris teen ID’d after deadly hit and run rollover crash
Jurupa Valley bicyclist, 45, ID’d after fatal collision

Deputies from the Hemet Sheriff’s Station were dispatched to the scene shortly after 5:30 p.m. after receiving reports of a possible traffic-related fatality, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Ed Baeza has since reported.

When deputies arrived, they confirmed the victim was deceased and secured the area as a crime scene.

Early in their investigation, officials determined the woman’s injuries were not consistent with a traffic collision and were later described by Baeza as “unexplained”.

Based on the circumstances, investigators from the Hemet Station and Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.

Investigators remained active at the scene until late into the next afternoon on Christmas Eve, when inclement weather and difficult terrain forced the investigation to be temporarily halted.

The victim’s name has not been released pending further investigation and notification of the victim’s family, according to Baeza; who said the sheriff’s investigation is continuing and no further details were able to be immediately released.

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

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

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 30 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 18 grandchildren.