Marine Arrested in Wife's Death

A 21-year old Marine based at MCAS Miramar is sitting in the county jail, accused of killing his wife inside their Mira Mesa apartment.

San Diego police found the body of a 19-year old woman shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday in the one-bedroom, second-story apartment on Hillery Drive in Mira Mesa.

According to homicide Lt. Kevin Rooney, the body did not show obvious signs of trauma.β€œThe cause of the woman's death is not clear at this point," he said. "However, there was a number of things in the apartment that suggested it was a murder as opposed to a natural death.”
 
The suspect, Lance Cpl. Patrick Poteat, was arrested just after 12:30 p.m. Tuesday by San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies, who stopped him as he was driving in Yucca Valley.
 
A spokesman from MCAS Miramar said Poteat, 21, has been stationed there since July 2009 and had not been deployed and had no previous duty stations.
 
β€œWe saw them all the time here and there passing and stuff. But it's scary,” said neighbor Dorothy Alevras.
 
Alevras said she overheard the couple arguing over the weekend.  β€œSo my husband went outside to see if someone needed help or if a kid was getting hurt," she said. "It was him, I guess beating her up or hurting her and she was running away.”
 
The name of the victim has not yet been released. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
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