Wednesday, July 1, 2020

The Disappearance & Presumed Murder of California Couple Jonathan Reynoso and Audrey Moran


Jonathan Reynoso (28) and Audrey Moran (26) went missing in California on May 10th, 2017. On that evening, Audrey left her sister’s home in Coachella Valley to pick up Jonathan in Brawley, a town located around 70 miles away. She told family members that she planned to pick Jonathan up in Brawley and then drive him to his home, located an hour and a half away, in Palm Desert. Later that evening, Audrey’s mother received a text message from Audrey’s phone that contained the above image. Interestingly enough, Audrey’s mother recognized the photo and said it was from a previous outing; it had been taken on an earlier date. This was the last time Audrey’s mother has heard from her. It was assumed that Audrey and Jonathan were together at this time, but that has never been confirmed. Around the same time, Jonathan sent a message to his friends in an Instagram group chat that said “I’m dying.” The following day, Audrey’s family grew concerned after being unable to get ahold of her and reported her missing.

Two days later, Audrey’s car was found pulled over to the side of interstate 10, west of Oak Valley Parkway in Beaumont. Her keys and purse were still in the car and the gas tank was almost full. There were no obvious signs of damage or a struggle. As previously mentioned, family and friends assumed that Audrey and Jonathan were together on the night of May 10th, however, authorities have actually not confirmed that Jonathan was last seen in Brawley. It is currently unclear who he was with in Brawley, or if he was even there at all. A pizza box found at Jonathan’s house in Palm Desert seems to indicate that he may have had it delivered around the time he was supposed to be out of town.

Investigators do not believe that Audrey and Jonathan are voluntarily missing. Their case is still being actively investigated. If you have any information, please contact investigators at (760) 393-3544.
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UPDATE (June 28th, 2020): Three men have been arrested in connection to the murders of Jonathan Reynoso and Audrey Moran. On Saturday, June 27th, the Riverside Central Homicide Unit arrested Abraham Fregoso (32), Manuel Rios (28) and Jesus Ruiz Jr. (41). All three were booked on murder charges. The arrests came after investigators reportedly "received information" that led to the three men being charged with murder. Investigators have stated that they are not revealing any further information at this time, but they are still encouraging any person with potential information on the case to come forward.

Jonathan and Audrey still remain missing. 
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UPDATE (July 1st, 2020): Investigators believe that they have found the remains of Jonathan and Audrey. On June 30th, it was announced that remains were found in the Coachella Valley and DNA testing is currently underway.

The three suspects remain in jail was the charges are pending. All three have received separate charges. Manuel Rios is charged with two counts of murder with a special circumstance of killing a witness. Abraham Fregoso is charged with only one count of murder, but also with the special circumstance of killing a witness. Jesus Ruiz Jr. is being charged with two counts of being an accessory to murder after the fact. 

Motives for the killings have still not been released.

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