Suspect arrested after woman is found dead near Laguna Beach restaurant where she worked
A man has been arrested in connection with the killing of a 27-year-old woman whose body was found last weekend near the restaurant where she worked in downtown Laguna Beach, authorities said Thursday.
Dino Rojas-Moreno, 26, was arrested Wednesday in Laguna Hills on suspicion of murder, the Laguna Beach Police Department said in a statement.
Tatum Goodwin, a restaurant worker from San Clemente, was found dead by a construction worker in a “secluded location” near the 200 block of Ocean Avenue at 8:20 a.m. Sunday, police said.
Homicide detectives obtained “enough information and evidence” to identify Rojas-Moreno as a suspect, police said. Laguna Beach detectives worked with the Newport Beach and Anaheim police departments to apprehend Rojas-Moreno, who is being held on $1-million bail.
Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, a college professor, is arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Jewish protester Paul Kessler.
“This arrest was the result of outstanding police work by our Investigations team that worked tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to bring justice to Tatum Goodwin and her family,” said Laguna Beach Police Chief Jeff Calvert.
There are no additional threats to the community, authorities said.
The Laguna Beach Police Department and the Orange County district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The girl was attacked as she came out of a bathroom stall, according to video and a notice of claim filed against Baldwin Unified School District.
Goodwin was an assistant manager at Carmelita’s, near Broadway and Pacific Coast Highway, and had worked at the restaurant for four years. Carmelita’s staff organized fundraising efforts in support of her family through a GoFundMe campaign, providing a QR code to the page at the bar.
“Tatum was a very hard-working young lady and always kept a smile on her face,” Marcos Heredia, owner and operator of Carmelita’s, said on the GoFundMe page. “Over the years, she had expressed her pleasure to be in Laguna and have her opportunity with us. We felt that we really had a family member here with us.”
Heredia went on to say that the goal of the fundraising effort was to help with funeral services, as well as to have a memorial put up in town so that the community would remember her.
Times Community News staff writer Andrew Turner contributed to this report.
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