A week after teen sister killed in wrong-way crash, older sister found murdered in Marshall’s parking lot – and murder suspect is on the run

Tragedy has struck a California family twice as two young sisters were killed just week apart — one in a tragic accident, and the other in a cold-blooded murder.

The Sacramento Bee reports that 21-year-old Karen Garcia’s body was found on Sunday in her car parked outside a Marshall’s in Woodland. Karen had been missing since January 8, the day her 19-year-old sister Jessica Garcia was killed along with four friends when a wrong-way driver crashed into their vehicle as the friends were driving on Interstate 5 on their way back from Denny’s.

According to the Davis Enterprise, Garcia left to run errands on the morning after her sister was killed, saying she needed time to herself. When she had not returned by the next day, her family filed a missing persons report.

At some point in the investigation police issued a warrant to search the home of Karen’s ex-boyfriend and father of her young child, as stated in a news release obtained by the Davis Enterprise.

“During the investigation a search warrant was served at [Salvatore] Garcia’s residence located on the 400 block of Oak St. in Colusa. Evidence found during the search warrant revealed evidence of a homicide,” the Colusa Police Department said.

Salvador Garcia has since been named a suspect in Karen’s death, and police are reportedly searching for him.

Chief Joshua Fitch told the Sacramento Bee that Karen and Salvador were together for nine years before recently ending the relationship. Karen had reportedly started dating someone new before she disappeared.

“She had started seeing someone else, and of course he hasn’t happy about that,” Fitch told the newspaper.

“He wanted her back and that wasn’t happening.”

Authorities have not yet released Karen’s cause of death or revealed the manner in which her body was found.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

 

 

[Feature image: Facebook/Karen Garcia; Salvador Garcia]