Boyfriend of Dead Woman Found in La Puente Charged with Murder

A 31-year-old man accused of killing his girlfriend and their two young sons in Orange was charged today with three counts of murder.

Shazer Fernando Limas is suspected in the stabbing death of 31-year-old Arlet Hernandez Contreras, whose in the neighboring city of La Puente.

Limas is also accused of killing their sons, 2-year-old Fernando and 4-month old Emmanuel.

Contreras' remains were unidentified at the Los Angeles County coroner's office until late last week when Orange police called to see if there were any anonymous stabbing victims, Orange police Sgt. Dan Adams said. The children's bodies have not been found.

The murder charges include a special-circumstance allegation of multiple murders, making him eligible for the death penalty, although a decision had
not yet been made on whether to seek execution. The charges also include a
sentencing enhancement allegation of using a deadly weapon, according to Deputy District Attorney Scott Simmons.

Limas, who was arrested Thursday night following a police pursuit, is expected to be arraigned after 3 p.m.

A planned search of the Brea landfill for the boys' bodies was postponed today because police did not have access to the cadaver dogs they needed. Police said the search of the landfill was not prompted by any specific tips, only because trash from the victims' apartment was taken there.

Contreras' body was found near the junction of the Pomona (60) and San Gabriel (605) freeways, Adams said. County workers were cleaning an area near MacLaren Street and Alderton Avenue known for trash dumping when they found a tarp with a putrid odor.

The workers called sheriff's deputies, who uncovered the body.

Limas is suspected of killing her April 14 in the family's apartment, 3063 W. Chapman Ave., in Orange, Adams said.

According to police and prosecutors, Limas went to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center the next day for treatment of a cut to his hand, Adams said. He
also went to a Home Depot to buy supplies on April 24 and then he moved out of the apartment, prosecutors said.

Limas turned in his keys and told apartment managers on April 28 he was moving out, prosecutors said.

Apartment managers called Orange police Thursday when they found blood in the apartment. When he was spotted by police, Limas led police on a high- speed pursuit, beginning in Santa Ana, in his Nissan 350Z, according to
prosecutors.

The pursuit continued southbound on the San Diego (405) Freeway to the
Santa Ana (5) Freeway, where the California Highway Patrol took over and ended the chase about 15 minutes later by using a spike strip that disabled the car.

Limas has refused to tell detectives what happened to the boys, Adams said.

Early reports indicated a blood trail from the apartment to a trash chute led detectives to search the Brea Landfill, where garbage from the apartments is dumped. But an initial search turned up no signs of the boys.