A man who drove his estranged wife’s body to downtown San Diego police headquarters was found guilty by a San Diego County Superior Court jury Tuesday.
In 2013, Americus de Orenday, 44, flagged down San Diego police near the downtown headquarters early one Tuesday morning, telling them his wife’s body was inside his car.
De Orenday will be sentenced on February 20.
According to authorities, De Orenday, 44, approached two plainsclothes detectives walking toward the police station and told them his wife, 40-year-old Mirella Alas De Orenday, was dead inside his Ford F-150 pickup truck.
Prosecutors said on the night of the murder, De Orenday went to her apartment with their three young children to talk about reconciling. When he learned Mirella was dating an 18-year-old coworker, prosecutors said he strangled her.
The medical examiner was called to the scene, at 14th Street and Broadway near the SDPD headquarters, just after 1:30 a.m. when Orenday drove up.
