Remains Unearthed in Canyon Country May Be Singer’s Wife

Coroner’s investigators unearthed skeletal remains Wednesday from a shallow grave off Sand Canyon Road, where the man who killed the wife of Los Lobos singer Cesar Rosas had led authorities.

Forensic experts said they will conduct an autopsy and compare dental records today to determine whether the bones are those of Sandra Rosas, who was slain by her half-brother, Gabriel Gomez.

It may be several days before the Los Angeles County coroner’s office identifies the remains, but authorities say they are confident the victim is Rosas.

“If it is not, Gabriel Gomez led us to the body of another woman that was murdered, and that’s very unlikely,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Don Clem said.

Rosas’ 28-year-old daughter was at the site Wednesday and told investigators she recognized a hair clip that was found with the remains.

Rosas disappeared from her Rowland Heights home on Oct. 23, 1999, and has not been seen since.

Last week Gomez was convicted of killing Rosas. In what Gomez’s attorney characterized as “an act of final contrition,” Gomez told authorities Monday where to find the shallow grave, 400 yards from the 29000 block of Sand Canyon Road.

Deputies used dogs to sniff out the grave at about 5 p.m. Tuesday and forensic anthropologists painstakingly exhumed the remains all day Wednesday.

This week’s search was the second since Gomez was sentenced on Nov. 16, the same day he led authorities on an unsuccessful attempt to find Rosas’ body in Schabarum Regional Park in Rowland Hills. That search was abandoned Saturday.

Referring to that search, part of which was televised live, Sheriff’s Homicide Det. Mike Scott said Gomez “sent us on a wild goose chase to get back at the investigators.”

But Gomez’s attorney, Antonio Bestard, said his client had forgotten the location.

“It took him a tremendous amount of time to remember the landmarks and geographic locations,” Bestard said.

As forensics experts worked to remove the remains, Rosas’ daughter Amber sat silently on the roadside above the grave. Other family members who watched and prayed over the recovery included Rosas’ sister, brother-in-law and a cousin, Joe Ornelas, who spoke to reporters on behalf of the family.

“This is the first step to closure for our family,” Ornelas said.

Scott said Gomez killed Rosas because Rosas wanted him out of her life. “He’s the black sheep of the family,” Scott said.

Scott said Gomez probably strangled his half-sister and drove to the Santa Clarita Valley to dump the body. Scott said he navigated his way back into the canyon along a hilly dirt road by the light of a full moon.

During the murder trial, prosecutors used DNA tests to link blood traces in Rosas’ van to Gomez.

On Monday, Gomez waived his attorney-client privileges to tell the authorities where Rosas lay.

“He gave investigators several landmarks,” Sheriff’s Deputy Darren Harris said. “He told them the body was near an all-night market, a restaurant, a trailer park, apartment building and a house with red trim.” Gomez also said he thought the body might be in Santa Clarita, officials said.

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Times staff writer Solomon Moore contributed to this story.