Cesar Gomez (L.A. County Sheriff's Dept.)
GARDEN GROVE-- A gang member is under arrest, charged with killing a prostitute who was found dead in a Garden Grove hotel room last month.
Cesar Gomez, 34, was arrested and charged Thursday for the strangulation murder of 24 year old Ashley Nicole Lilly in a room of the Crowne Plaza Anaheim Resort hotel, said officials at the Orange County district attorney's office.
Gomez, whom police describe as member of a Los Angeles street gang, was arrested after a traffic stop on Pioneer Boulevard in Artesia, said Lt. Travis Whitman of the Garden Grove police.
Investigators linked Gomez to the killing with DNA evidence collected at the crime scene.
According to detectives, Gomez is believed to have shown up at Lilly's hotel room on the night of August 20th or early in the morning August 21st and brutally attacked her.
After Lilly's death, investigators say her room was ransacked and many of her possessions were stolen.
Authorities do not believe Gomez sexually assaulted Lilly, who authorities say posted on escort and dating websites that she would be staying at the hotel and that men should contact her for sex.
Hotel workers discovered Lilly's body at around 10:00 a.m. August 21st.
Days later, police investigated leads that pointed them to the internet escort service, "Humaniplex Orange County" where Lilly was identified by the alias, "Queen Sugar"
Gomez was convicted of attempted murder in 1993 in Pomona, authorities said.
He is being held without bail by Garden Grove police. Gomez faces a minimum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Cesar Gomez, 34, was arrested and charged Thursday for the strangulation murder of 24 year old Ashley Nicole Lilly in a room of the Crowne Plaza Anaheim Resort hotel, said officials at the Orange County district attorney's office.
Gomez, whom police describe as member of a Los Angeles street gang, was arrested after a traffic stop on Pioneer Boulevard in Artesia, said Lt. Travis Whitman of the Garden Grove police.
Investigators linked Gomez to the killing with DNA evidence collected at the crime scene.
According to detectives, Gomez is believed to have shown up at Lilly's hotel room on the night of August 20th or early in the morning August 21st and brutally attacked her.
After Lilly's death, investigators say her room was ransacked and many of her possessions were stolen.
Authorities do not believe Gomez sexually assaulted Lilly, who authorities say posted on escort and dating websites that she would be staying at the hotel and that men should contact her for sex.
Hotel workers discovered Lilly's body at around 10:00 a.m. August 21st.
Days later, police investigated leads that pointed them to the internet escort service, "Humaniplex Orange County" where Lilly was identified by the alias, "Queen Sugar"
Gomez was convicted of attempted murder in 1993 in Pomona, authorities said.
He is being held without bail by Garden Grove police. Gomez faces a minimum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
