Costa Mesa man arrested on suspicion of homicide after woman found unresponsive in motel

Costa Mesa police arrested a 31-year-old local man on suspicion of homicide following the death of a woman found early Monday unresponsive and bleeding inside the room of a motel on South Coast Drive, officials reported Tuesday.

The incident took place sometime before Monday at 6 a.m., when Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue was called to a motel on the 1500 block of South Coast Drive following a report of a woman who was bleeding.

Responders arrived and, finding the victim unresponsive, began rendering medical aid before transporting her to a nearby hospital, according to a Costa Mesa Police Department news release issued Tuesday.

The woman — identified as Yu Wang, 32, of Laguna Niguel — died at the hospital, and police arrested 31-year-old Max Justin Blumencranz at the scene. While the name of the motel was not provided by officials, maps indicate the only motel lodging on the 1500 block of South Coast Drive is La Quinta by Wyndham Costa Mesa/Newport Beach, just north of the 405 Freeway.

Wang’s exact cause of death and relationship to Blumencranz are still being investigated and no additional details are being released to the public, CMPD reported Tuesday.

Although it is unknown when Wang died, an online inmate locator maintained by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department indicates Blumencranz was booked early Tuesday, just after midnight. Costa Mesa police plan to submit their case to the Orange County district attorney’s office for filing consideration, according to officials.

Anyone who has information regarding the incident or events leading up to it is asked to contact Sgt. Jake Jacobi at (714) 754-5352, jjacobi@costamesaca.gov or Detective C. Jones at (714) 754-4873, cjones@costamesaca.gov.