Pasadena Man Charged In Wife’s Killing, Carrying Victim’s Remains On Train

A 56-year-old man in Pasadena described by the police as a "career criminal" was charged Tuesday with the dismemberment murder of a person, believed to be his wife, whose remains were found last week in the Cypress Park Home Depot in Los Angeles, officials said.

Valentino Gutierrez, 56, of Pasadena was charged with one count of murder and one count of arson of property.

Investigators said Gutierrez allegedly boarded a Metro Gold Line train in Pasadena shortly after midnight Jan. 30 with a bicycle and a suitcase, which reportedly contained the victim’s body. He then rode his bicycle from the Lincoln/Cypress station in Los Angeles to a Home Depot parking lot at Figueroa Avenue and Avenue 22 and burned the suitcase before fleeing, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Deputy Chief Justin Eisenberg told reporters.

Gutierrez was arrested in Pasadena on Friday, 32 hours after police began their "exhaustive investigation," the deputy chief specified. Police said a follow-up investigation led to an abandoned restaurant Thursday near California Boulevard and Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena, where investigators said they believed Gutierrez committed the murder and chopped the body of the victim.

Capt. William Hayes, commander of the LAPD’s Robbery Homicide Division, said the authorities believe the victim was Tiana Alfred, the suspect’s 31-year-old wife, but added the police and coroner’s office are still attempting to conclusively determine the identity. The motive has not yet been discovered.

"It takes a lot of determined effort" to dismember a body, Hayes said. "To dismember an individual like that is pretty grotesque and it takes an awful lot of effort and determination by an individual, which is pretty cold."

Police said they believe both the victim and the suspect were homeless and reportedly residing in a shelter on Raymond Avenue in Pasadena.

Los Angeles police used bloodhounds in order to track Gutierrez’s movement “prior to him callously disposing of our victim’s body,” Eisenberg alleged. He added firefighters responding to a rubbish fire at the home depot found human remains after they had put out the blaze.

“Valentino Gutierrez is a career criminal with a very significant criminal history,” the deputy chief said.

Gutierrez’s criminal record included convictions for domestic violence, robbery, burglary, sexual battery, battery, negligent discharge of a firearm, possession of a deadly weapon and narcotics. He was arraigned in a Pasadena Superior Court Tuesday afternoon and was ordered to remain jailed. His bail was set at $2.2 million.

Gutierrez also awaits another arraignment on Feb. 15 on one count each of murder and arson of property, along with an allegation against him that he used an accelerant. He could face up to life imprisonment if convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

The Pasadena Police Department, which has been working with the LAPD on the investigation into the killing, said the probe was ongoing.

The department added they responded to the shuttered restaurant property for “homeless-related concerns” at least three times last year. Authorities said they will continue to work with the city’s Code Enforcement Section to conduct high-visibility patrols and ensure the structure is secured so that no such incident takes place in the future.