Overdose blamed in mysterious death of Valentine’s date who vanished; ‘body was dumped,’ official says
Erica Alonso’s family embraced during a news conference at the Orange County sheriff’s headquarters in Santa Ana on Feb. 20, days after she disappeared.
The death of an Orange County woman who disappeared after a Valentine’s Day night out in Costa Mesa has been ruled an overdose, but how her body ended up on an isolated embankment in the Cleveland National Forest remains a mystery, officials said Wednesday.
“The indications are that she died somewhere else and then the body was dumped out there,” Orange County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock said.
Toxicology tests showed that Erica Alonso, 28, of Laguna Hills died from a lethal combination of alcohol and the drug GHB, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Investigators have evidence in addition to the toxicology tests to support the conclusion that Alonso’s death was caused by an overdose, but “the manner remains undetermined,” Hallock said.
GHB can produce euphoria and is known for use at dance clubs or raves, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It also has been used as a date-rape drug and can cause unconsciousness in high doses, according to the DEA.
Alonso also had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.22%, Hallock said. The legal limit for driving is 0.08%.
Investigators have said that Alonso drove away from her on-and-off boyfriend’s house in Irvine early Feb. 15 after the two had visited Sutra Lounge in Costa Mesa, where they met another couple who accompanied them to the house. The couple told investigators they left the house at about 3:45 a.m. when Alonso and her boyfriend began to argue, Hallock said previously. Alonso may have left 10 to 15 minutes later, authorities said.
Investigators found Alonso’s car March 25 in Aliso Viejo. Her decomposing body was discovered April 27 by a group of biologists in a remote area off Ortega Highway near San Juan Capistrano.
The body showed no obvious signs of physical trauma, and an autopsy at the time did not reveal the cause of death, authorities said.
It’s unclear how long Alonso was dead before her body was found. Sheriff’s personnel have some idea, Hallock said, but he declined to release more details because they’re still investigating.
“They continue to pursue information as to the circumstance that led to Ms. Alonso’s death and her body being located off the Ortega Highway,” he said in a news release.