A Honolulu man accused of killing his wife seven years ago and dumping her body in a desert near San Diego County was extradited to San Diego overnight as part of the homicide investigation.
Anthony Simoneau, 46, allegedly killed Fumiko Ogawa, 41, and dumped her body in the Anza-Borrego Desert in 2007.
Remains of a woman were found in a shallow grave near the Bow Willow Campground on Jan. 20, 2007, and positively identified as Ogawa four years later.
Ogawa, a Japanese national, was last seen near her Point Loma home on or around Jan. 4, 2007. Her family in Japan – not Simoneau – reported her missing.
When San Diego investigators interviewed her husband, he told them she had gone to Hawaii, according to police.
Simoneau has denied killing his wife, but police identified him as a suspect after learning he had sought a divorce before her death.
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He was arrested and charged with her death earlier this month in Hawaii, where he had been working as a tour guide. Upon his arrest, Simoneau told a judge he looked forward to returning to San Diego to vindicate his name.
Simoneau was flown from Hawaii into San Diego’s Lindbergh Field Thursday night and booked into San Diego Central Jail just before midnight one count of first-degree murder.
He's scheduled to be arraigned in court Monday, the San Diego District Attorney's office confirmed. If convicted, Simoneau faces 25 years to life in prison.
