A 31-year-old California man is charged with mur*der after allegedly ki*lling, dismembering, and bu*rning his ex-girlfriend.
Ivan Alfaro Escobedo, also known as Iban Alfaro Escovedo, is charged with mur*dering his ex-girlfriend Alyssa Salazar, 33, according to a statement of facts written by Gilroy police Det. Jason Greathead, filed in Superior Court by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and obtained by Law&Crime on Wednesday.
According to the Gilroy Police Department, Salazar’s family reported the mother of two daughters missing on August 10 after she had not been heard from since late July.
The investigation led detectives to a property in unincorporated Santa Clara County south of Gilroy on August 30. On the property, detectives discovered that Escobedo’s sister resided in a caravan. Greathead wrote that Escobedo was at his sister’s residence in late July when a witness told detectives he saw a fire burning for several days in barrels next to the caravan.
Investigators searched the property between August 30 and September 1 and discovered human bones in the burn barrel, including rib fragments, a skull, and a hand. Detectives also discovered blood in a bathtub. The remains and blood were determined to belong to Salazar.
26 July at 12:30 p.m., video from the Steinbeck Library in Salinas shows Salazar entering Escobedo’s 2007 Honda Accord and driving away. According to Greathead, Salazar called from Escobedo’s phone a few minutes later, and that was the last time anyone heard from her.
Later that day, witnesses reported seeing Salazar slumped in her ex-boyfriend’s car. A witness also stated that Escobedo admitted to shooting Salazar in his car, dism*embering her in the bathtub, and burning her body in barrels, according to the document.
Greathead wrote that investigators believe the mu*rder was motivated by Salazar’s report to police on April 27, 2023, that Escobedo had raped and physically assaulted her. According to Santa Clara County Superior Court records, felony charges of family violence were filed on May 26.
Jessica Salazar, Salazar’s sister, claims the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office “sat” on the rape case “for over two weeks” on a GoFundMe page created to raise money for Salazar’s funeral expenses and an attorney.
“Had Alyssa’s case been processed in a timely manner, my sister would still be alive today,” she wrote.
“The sexual assault case that led to it is a reminder of the challenges of domestic violence,” said spokesman Sean Webby. “In this instance, the victim ceased cooperating with investigators. Subsequently, we filed charges based on new evidence that emerged after her mur*der.”
In July, Salazar’s sister and grandmother reported receiving threatening phone calls from a man whose voice sounded like that of Escobedo, who threatened to ki*ll her and her family if she reported the rape. The report does not indicate whether Escobedo was aware that she had already reported the rape.
Regardless, he tragically carried out his threat, according to police.
Escobedo wasn’t arrested until Aug. 30 in his Honda Accord where investigators found red-brown stains in the front passenger door frame and a 9 mm handgun, Greathead wrote. The stains tested positive for blood and matched Salazar’s DNA profile. Since being taken to the Santa Clara County Jail, Escobedo has been held without bail.
Jessica Salazar stated that her family never believed Escobedo would carry out his threats.
She wrote on the GoFundMe page, “Alyssa is a strong-willed individual who refused to be intimidated into retracting her statement.”
Wednesday, local Fox affiliate KTVU reported that Escobedo refused to appear in court, prompting Jessica Salazar to label him a “coward.”
“May God prevent your daughters from ever meeting a man like you. “You are a pig,” she told the publication.
“Alyssa will visit you in your dreams every night, and I hope you will see her whenever you look at me or my sister. She said while sobbing, “I hope you see her face.”
