Suspect in Killing Held in Illinois

A man wanted in Torrance for allegedly killing his live-in girlfriend and then dumping her body in the desert has been arrested in Illinois, authorities said Tuesday.

Richard DeLyle, 56, of Torrance was arrested Sunday in front of a Ramada hotel in Rosemont, a Chicago suburb, said Rosemont Police Department spokesman David Bahr.

He said Rosemont police had received a tip from a man identifying himself as “Mr. Duffy,” who said DeLyle was suspected of murder in California and was a guest at the hotel.

Bahr said the source told police about a 1999 Ford Ranger pickup truck that DeLyle had been driving and which Torrance police were trying to locate.

After a brief surveillance, DeLyle was arrested without incident, Bahr said. An extradition hearing is pending, he said.

Torrance Police Lt. Ed LaLonde said officers will travel to Illinois this week to get DeLyle. Torrance police believe DeLyle killed his girlfriend Sarah Hart, 60, then dumped and burned her body in the desert. Her relatives reported her missing April 2, saying they had last seen Hart in January, LaLonde said.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies notified Torrance police of an unidentified burned body found in a remote area north of Big Bear in February, he said. Dental records revealed April 10 that the body was Hart’s.

LaLonde said money is thought to be DeLyle’s motive for killing Hart, a wealthy former schoolteacher. An investigation indicated that DeLyle had tried to access Hart’s accounts, which had more than $1 million in them.