Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Murder charges may be filed Wednesday against a 37-year- old Huntington Beach man accused of killing two acquaintances and then dumping the bodies in Newport Beach following a New Year’s Eve party in Westminster.
Christopher Ken Ireland, who listed his occupation as real estate agent, is being held without bail and expected to be arraigned Wednesday, a prosecutor said.
Ireland is accused of killing 59-year-old Yolanda Holtrey and her 49-year-old friend, Michelle Luke, of Huntington Beach. It appears Holtrey and Luke were co-workers, according to Westminster police Cpl. Alan Aoki.
“They all seemed to be acquaintances,” Aoki said.
Police say the motive for the killings remained under investigation, Aoki said. Also unknown is the cause of death, Aoki said.
The three were at a New Year’s Eve gathering at Holtrey’s home when “something transpired, we don’t know exactly what or why,” and the victims were killed, Aoki said.
Orange County Fire Authority firefighters responded to a blaze at Holtrey’s home in the 5000 block of Northwestern Way on New Year’s Day. The home’s interior sustained some fire damage, and investigators suspect the blaze was deliberately set.
The bodies were found on Monday in the weeds near a shopping strip in Newport Beach, Aoki said.
Authorities apprehended Ireland at the scene of the fire, Aoki said, adding that investigators collected evidence at the home that appeared to link him to the killings.
Ireland has no prior criminal record in Orange County, according to court records.
Ireland is a licensed real estate agent working for Realty One Group, Inc. in Rancho Cucamonga with no disciplinary actions on his record, according to California real estate records. He was first licensed as an agent in August.
The suspect’s wife, Samantha Ireland, told NBC4 the couple attended a New Year’s Eve party at Holtrey’s house and had a good time.
“There were no fights, arguments,” she told the station.
The couple went home, Samantha Ireland said.
“I don’t remember him leaving the house,” she told the station. “He doesn’t remember anything.”
She worked with the women at Stein Mart, according to broadcast reports.
—City News Service
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