Costa Mesa man Daniel Allen Aldrich allegedly strangled his girlfriend, slit her wrist and then went back to watching TV, prosecutors say

COSTA MESA, Calif. (KABC) — A Costa Mesa man has been accused of killing his girlfriend and then leaving her body in a trash can at his home.

Daniel Allen Aldrich, 49, has been charged with one felony count of murder and one misdemeanor count of personal use of a weapon.

Aldrich does accused of strangling 38-year-old Julie Anne Sanetra last Sunday, after the couple got into an argument and then cut her wrist with a knife.

Authorities say the incident happened after a night of drinking. The couple got into an argument and Aldrich allegedly strangled Sanetra and cut her wrist with a pocket knife, leaving her body on the couch while he continued to watch TV and then went to bed.

He then allegedly left her body in a garbage bin outside the house and drove to his mother’s house in Glendale. Landscapers found her body in the trash the next day.

“Julie Sanetra did not deserve to be strangled and stuffed into a trash can like a piece of trash,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “The callousness of this crime shocks the conscience, and we will do everything we can to get justice for Julie and her loved ones.”