SANTA PAULA : No Charges Filed in Double Slaying

The Ventura County district attorney’s office declined Friday to file murder charges against a 24-year-old man who is the suspect in a double homicide in Santa Paula, but authorities are continuing their investigation.

Prosecutors plan to seek a special warrant that would allow police to arrest the man on probable cause and question him, Santa Paula Police Sgt. Gary Marshall said. The district attorney’s office had been reviewing the case for several days.

Everardo Meza Alamillo, who is a Mexican national, is believed to have fled to Mexico where his mother lives, Marshall said. Mexican authorities will not arrest or prosecute Alamillo unless criminal charges are filed against him in the United States and a regular arrest warrant is issued, he said.

Alamillo is suspected of fatally shooting his estranged wife, Adriana Meza Alamillo, 21, and her boyfriend, Armando Antonio Cauich, 22. Both were found dead in Adriana’s bed in the early hours of Oct. 14. A housemate found the bodies after being awakened by the cries of the woman’s 2-year-old daughter.

According to police, the husband had made recent threats against his wife, who was seeking a divorce. The suspect’s white Mustang was found near Adriana Meza’s house. After seizing the car, police learned it had a dead battery.

Marshall said the case against Alamillo consists of a lot of circumstantial evidence, though physical evidence from the crime scene and from the suspect’s car is still being processed.

“As more physical evidence comes in, they may alter their decision,” he said, referring to the district attorney’s office. “As of now, they’re not going to have a criminal filing.”