Tony Lopez Perez and Cori Desmond
SAN BERNARDINO -- A restaurant chef accused of killing a popular Torrance bartender and dumping her body in the San Bernardino Mountains has been ordered to stand trial for murder.
Tony Lopez Perez claims he did not kill Cori Desmond and instead insists he found the 28-year old's body and decided to dispose of it in the mountains, according to records recently made public.
According to a search warrant affidavit filed Nov. 25, the Redondo Beach man told detectives he found Desmond's body lying next to his Dodge Durango outside his apartment.
Perez claimed he put the body in a duffel bag, placed it in his vehicle, went to work at the Spitfire Grill in Santa Monica and then transported it 80 miles, according to the affidavit.
The document did not state why he would pick up and dispose of the body without notifying police.
Perez pleaded not guilty to murder after his arrest in October.
He is due back in court for arraignment on Feb. 4.
Desmond was last seen February 15 leaving the Bac Street Lounge on Artesia Boulevard.
Her Jeep was found parked near the bar, but her body was found the next day in a bag at the side of a highway near Running Springs.
Investigators have not disclosed the cause of death, but said she appeared to suffer from blunt force trauma.
Authorities allege Perez, who was believed to have no prior relationship with the victim, tried to pick her up as she walked home from the Bac Street Lounge in the early morning hours of February 15.
When Desmond resisted, detectives suspect that Perez attacked her.
Sheriff's Lt. Rick Els said Perez and Desmond did not know each other and that the motive was a sex assault.
He was allegedly linked to the crime after an anonymous tipster reported seeing Perez scrubbing and cleaning the inside of his truck, which he sold shortly thereafter.
Detectives recovered the vehicle from its new owner, reportedly finding evidence from the crime.
Perez faces one count of murder in Desmond's death.
Tony Lopez Perez claims he did not kill Cori Desmond and instead insists he found the 28-year old's body and decided to dispose of it in the mountains, according to records recently made public.
According to a search warrant affidavit filed Nov. 25, the Redondo Beach man told detectives he found Desmond's body lying next to his Dodge Durango outside his apartment.
Perez claimed he put the body in a duffel bag, placed it in his vehicle, went to work at the Spitfire Grill in Santa Monica and then transported it 80 miles, according to the affidavit.
The document did not state why he would pick up and dispose of the body without notifying police.
Perez pleaded not guilty to murder after his arrest in October.
He is due back in court for arraignment on Feb. 4.
Desmond was last seen February 15 leaving the Bac Street Lounge on Artesia Boulevard.
Her Jeep was found parked near the bar, but her body was found the next day in a bag at the side of a highway near Running Springs.
Investigators have not disclosed the cause of death, but said she appeared to suffer from blunt force trauma.
Authorities allege Perez, who was believed to have no prior relationship with the victim, tried to pick her up as she walked home from the Bac Street Lounge in the early morning hours of February 15.
When Desmond resisted, detectives suspect that Perez attacked her.
Sheriff's Lt. Rick Els said Perez and Desmond did not know each other and that the motive was a sex assault.
He was allegedly linked to the crime after an anonymous tipster reported seeing Perez scrubbing and cleaning the inside of his truck, which he sold shortly thereafter.
Detectives recovered the vehicle from its new owner, reportedly finding evidence from the crime.
Perez faces one count of murder in Desmond's death.
