SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on the murder of two women after a New Year’s Eve party in Orange County (all times local):
5:40 p.m.
An Orange County man charged with killing two women after a New Year’s Eve party and disfiguring one of the victims is being held without bail after his arraignment was postponed.
Wednesday’s hearing for Christopher Ireland was rescheduled to Jan. 20.
The 37-year-old Ireland is charged with multiple murders, arson and aggravated mayhem. Prosecutors haven’t stated whether they will seek the death penalty if he is tried.
Authorities say the Huntington Beach man killed 59-year-old Yolanda Holtrey and her 49-year-old friend Michelle Luke after attending a New Year’s Eve party at Holtrey’s Westminster home and set fire to the home to try to cover up the crime.
There’s no word on a motive but friends and relatives have said both women worked with Ireland’s wife at a department store.
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10:14 a.m.
Prosecutors have charged an Orange County man with the murder of two women after a New Years’ Eve party and setting fire to one of their homes.
The Orange County district attorney’s office said Wednesday that 37-year-old Christopher Ireland is charged with two counts of murder, one count of arson and an enhancement for multiple murders.
Prosecutors say he is also charged with one count of aggravated mayhem for allegedly disfiguring one of the victims.
Ireland is expected to appear in a jailhouse courtroom Wednesday and could not be immediately reached.
Authorities say the Huntington Beach man killed 59-year-old Yolanda Holtrey and her 49-year-old friend Michelle Luke after attending a New Year’s Eve party at Holtrey’s Westminster home and set fire to the home to try to cover up the crime.
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5: 55 a.m.
Authorities have identified the second of two Southern California women who investigators say were killed after a New Year’s Eve party one of them hosted.
The Orange County Register reports (https://bit.ly/2hS0Uin) the bodies of 49-year-old Michelle Luke of Huntington Beach and 59-year-old Yolanda Holtrey of Westminster were found Monday near a shopping mall.
Westminster police say the suspect in the slayings attended the New Year’s Eve gathering at Holtrey’s home.
Cmdr. Cameron Knauerhaze says evidence at the house led to 37-year-old Christopher Ireland, who was arrested on suspicion of murder. The commander says the Huntington Beach man and the victims were acquaintances.
Police came to investigate after firefighters extinguished a suspicious fire at Holtrey’s home.
A message left on a phone number for Ireland was not returned.
The newspaper says the victims worked together at a department store.
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