Man Held in Dana Point Motel Death

A Mission Viejo man was arrested on suspicion of murder Saturday after the body of an unidentified woman was found in his motel room early in the morning, authorities said.

Bernard Aiken, 38, was arrested several hours after reporting to the front desk of the Don Carlos Motel at 25324 Dana Point Harbor Drive that a woman had passed out in his room.

But Sgt. James Sidebotham, an Sheriff’s Department homicide investigator, said later that a preliminary report showed that the woman had died of blunt-force trauma and strangulation.

The motel manager called deputies and paramedics about 7 a.m., said Lt. Richard J. Olson, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman. Paramedics took the body to Samaritan Medical Center-San Clemente, where the woman was pronounced dead, Olson said.

Her identity had not been established Saturday night. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

A preliminary investigation indicated that the woman and the man who called the manager knew each other. Olson said the man has been questioned in the death.