West Covina Man Charged with Wife's Murder

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

Tomas Rodriguez Infante, 60, was scheduled to be arraigned today in Pomona Superior Court on a murder charge stemming from the Jan. 11 slaying.

Charita 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 has remained jailed since his arrest early Monday. Prosecutors were asking that his bail be set at $1 million.

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

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