Woman on ice died of overdose
Orange County coroner’s officials Thursday confirmed what investigators had long suspected: A woman whose body was found packed in dry ice in an upscale hotel room died of an overdose.
Monique Felicia Trepp, 33, found March 6 at the Fairmont Hotel, died of an acute combination of cocaine and alcohol, supervising deputy coroner Larry Esslinger said.
Investigators believe that she may have been dead for as long as a year.
Trepp’s boyfriend, Stephen David Royds, 46, has been charged with possession and intent to sell drugs from the hotel room that he and Trepp shared.
In a jailhouse interview with the Orange County Register, he said he’d kept the woman’s body preserved in dry ice “for religious reasons,” but wouldn’t elaborate.
--
-- David Haldane
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
