Man Accused of Dumping Body in Hawaiian Gardens Charged in Wife's Slaying

A West Covina man was charged Wednesday with murdering his wife, whose body was found inside her car in the parking lot of the Hawaiian Gardens Casino last weekend.

Tomas Rodriguez Infante, 60, was ordered to remain jailed in lieu of $1 million bail while awaiting arraignment Feb. 13 in Pomona Superior Court on a murder charge stemming from the Jan. 11 slaying.

Charito Tolentino, 57, died from blunt force trauma and stabbing-type injuries. Infante had reported her missing to West Covina police, where the couple lived with their 17-year-old daughter, according to sheriff's Lt. John Corina.

Infante told police she got off work Friday morning and did not return home, and the family began searching for her. The search led to her parked car in the 11800 block of Carson Street, Corina said.

The sheriff's department was contacted and, about 9:20 a.m. Sunday, deputies checked the car and found the woman's body inside. Investigators then served a search warrant at the couple's home, "where they located evidence which implicated the suspect in the victim's murder," Corina said.

"It appears from the evidence that the suspect killed the victim at (their home) and then transported her body in a car, which he parked and abandoned in the parking lot of the Hawaiian Gardens Casino," Corina alleged.

Infante was arrested early Monday.

If convicted, Infante faces up to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

- City News Service