Former Neighbor Arrested in Death of San Fernando Man

A man who told San Fernando police that he witnessed an attack on a 15-month-old girl and the kidnaping of her father was later arrested on suspicion of murder when police opened the trunk of his car and found the father’s body, authorities said.

The killing of Jose Antonio Espinoza, 31, whose body was discovered in a car parked in the 1500 block of 1st Street, four blocks from his home, was the first homicide in San Fernando in three years, said Lt. Dan Peavy, the Police Department’s detective commander.

Peavy said Espinoza’s disappearance Tuesday morning set off a daylong investigation that ended in the arrest of Jose Orlando Ayala, 22, of Reseda, who was being held without bail in the San Fernando Jail.

Peavy said what had initially been reported as a kidnaping turned out to be a killing rooted in a feud between former neighbors.

“Ayala was saying the husband had been kidnaped,” Peavy said. “We tried to verify his story and we couldn’t. It was just a story to mislead us.”

According to Peavy, the case unfolded this way:

At 11:15 a.m. Tuesday, Sherry Espinoza learned while at work that her husband had not dropped their daughter, Jennifer, at a baby sitter’s home. She called her husband at work to find out why and learned that he had not shown up. She then went home to find out what was wrong and found Jennifer on the floor with bruises on her head and neck.

Her husband was gone, but, in the home, she found Ayala, a neighbor of the Espinozas until they moved from Reseda to San Fernando four months ago. Ayala told the woman that her husband had been kidnaped, then went with her to take the child to Olive View Hospital in Sylmar, where the girl was admitted and is listed good condition.

Hospital officials called police. After detectives interviewed Ayala, they grew suspicious and detained him while attempting to verify the kidnaping.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators were called in to assist in the investigation. Police learned that Ayala owned a car, but it could not be immediately located.

A patrol officer spotted the car about 7:30 p.m. in the parking lot of a company that manufactures frozen pizzas near the Espinoza home. Officers found Espinoza’s body in the trunk and Ayala was arrested.

Peavy said investigators believe that Espinoza died from a blow to the head, adding that they believe he was attacked because of a long-running dispute with Ayala. Police would not elaborate on the nature of the dispute.