Boyfriend arrested after missing Oregon woman’s body is found in landfill
08/11/2022 1:43 pm PDT
CORVALLIS, Ore. (TCD) -- A 31-year-old man was arrested after his missing girlfriend’s body was found in a landfill earlier this week.
According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, 27-year-old Kaylee Birdzell’s family reported her missing Aug. 5. Two days later, deputies reportedly received information "that Birdzell had been murdered."
The statement alleges Birdzell was "put into the garbage at a local apartment complex." The Violent Crimes Unit reportedly responded to the investigation and concluded she was dead.
Investigators reportedly began searching through the apartment complex’s garbage, and they went to a landfill in Benton County on Aug. 9 to continue searching, where they eventually found Birdzell’s body. Her remains were taken to the Oregon State Medical Examiner for an autopsy, and the coroner reportedly determined her manner of death was homicide. Her cause of death was not released.
According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, detectives arrested Birdzell’s boyfriend, Fabian Albert Hernandez, Aug. 7 on unrelated charges of identity theft and fraudulent use of a credit card. On Aug. 10, he was additionally charged with second-degree murder and abuse of a corpse.
The Sheriff’s Office says additional charges "are likely as the investigation continues."
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