Camarillo man arrested after authorities find his mother’s body in apartment dumpster

A 25-year-old Camarillo man has been arrested on suspicion of killing his mother and disposing of her body in a dumpster at the apartment complex where they lived, Ventura County sheriff’s officials said.

David Hoetzlein was arrested Friday on suspicion of killing his mother, Tomoko Hoetzlein, 62, Sheriff’s Capt. Cameron Henderson said. The son and mother lived together in the same apartment, he said.

Deputies responded to a call about 6:50 a.m. about possible human remains found in a dumpster at the apartment complex at the 300 block of Townsite Promenade in Camarillo, Henderson said.

After the discovery, sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant at the apartment and detained David Hoetzlein, who was then arrested and booked at the Ventura County Pre-Trial Detention Facility in Ventura.

Neighbors said they occasionally saw Hoetzlein and his mother around the building, which is in an area they described as safe and quiet.

“He lived here in the apartment complex, then barricaded himself into the apartment all day. They were able to get him out at about 3:30,” neighbor Kathy Kennedy told KTLA-TV.