Man Pleads Not Guilty To Murder In Woman's Death At Motel

SAN DIEGO, CA — A man accused of killing an Arizona woman whose body was discovered earlier this month inside a Mission Valley motel room pleaded not guilty Thursday to a murder charge.

Santiago Contreras, 40, of San Diego, is accused in the death of 43-year-old Tucson resident Tonya Molina, whose body was discovered by a housekeeper on the afternoon of April 19.

According to San Diego police Lt. Andra Brown, Molina had been seen with a man who checked into the motel the night before her body was found.

Police were called to the motel in the 400 block of Hotel Circle South after Molina was found unresponsive inside one of the motel's rooms, Brown said.

Contreras was arrested in Ocean Beach two days after the body's discovery.

Following an autopsy, the county Medical Examiner's Office ruled Molina's death a homicide, though police have not released Molina's cause of death.

Officials also have not disclosed a suspected motive for the alleged slaying or revealed the nature of the relationship between Contreras and Molina.

— City News Service