Murder Charges Filed Against Citrus Heights Man

February 02, 2018

R. Scott Owens

District Attorney

PLACER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
10810 Justice Center Drive, Suite 240
Roseville, California 95678

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
February 2, 2018

Contact: Jeff Wilson, Assistant District Attorney

MURDER CHARGES FILED AGAINST CITRUS HEIGHTS MAN

Murder charges were filed today against Michael Forest Abeyta, 28, of Citrus Heights, in relation to the decomposed body that was located near Foresthill Road east of Auburn, on January 27, 2018. Mr. Abeyta was charged with one count of Murder in violation of section 187(a) of the Penal Code. The victim’s skeletal remains were located last Saturday by hikers who were in the area. Detectives from the Placer County Sheriff’s Office responded and worked tirelessly to identify the victim and to locate the individual responsible for the victim’s death. The outstanding effort by the Detectives produced not only the identification of the victim, but produced the evidence that supports the murder charge filed by our office. The name of the victim is not being released pending notification of the victim’s family.

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges will likely be added as the investigation continues. Our office will not comment on details or facts of the case given that the investigation is still on going.

Abeyta is in custody at the Placer County Jail without bail. He will be arraigned today in Department 13 of the Placer County Superior Court at 1 p.m.