California father killed three-year-old daughter before committing suicide

A 3-year-old girl whose body was found at a recycling plant in California’s Bay Area was killed by her father shortly before he committed suicide, police said.

On Tuesday, July 16, San Jose Police announced in a press release that they had identified Jared Lorenzo, a resident of Fremont, California, as the man who killed his three-year-old daughter, Ellie Obi Lorenzo.

According to police, the toddler was reported missing by her mother in Fremont on Friday, July 12, after she learned the girl’s father had been found dead in San Francisco. Just a day after her mother reported her missing, Ellie was found dead at a recycling plant in nearby San Jose, police added.

In their July 16 update, police noted that Ellie was last seen alive when she was with Lorenzo “at a residence in the city of Fremont” on Thursday evening, July 11. Later that night, the two drove to Lorenzo’s residence, also in Fremont. The next morning around 6:00 a.m., Lorenzo left his residence and drove to San Jose, where he removed Ellie’s body from the trunk of his car and dumped it in a trash can, police said.

According to police, the trash can was emptied and Ellie’s body was unknowingly taken to another facility, where an employee called police to report that a body was found in the facility’s processing area at around 4:30 a.m. on July 13.

Police also added that they had “additional evidence” suggesting that Lorenzo passed through several neighboring cities in the Bay Area before finally arriving in San Francisco, where he was found dead shortly after 11 a.m. on July 12 in an apparent suicide.

On Monday, July 15, the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office officially identified the body as Ellie’s. In a press release, police added that the cause and manner of death were still under investigation and could be definitively determined after a medical examination by the coroner.

“The motive and circumstances remain under investigation,” police added in the press release, noting that the case is being handled by the SJPD’s homicide unit.

According to a Facebook post from Fremont Police shared shortly after Ellie was reported missing, Lorenzo and the 3-year-old’s mother, Chrystal Obi, had reached a custody agreement and Ellie was expected to return to her mother after leaving her father’s care.

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Obi told NBC Bay Area she was “heartbroken” after learning of her daughter’s death, adding that her toddler will be remembered for her “bright and curious mind, big smile and warm, loving heart.”

“Ellie’s life was filled with so many people who loved her so much and will miss her beyond words,” Obi added, according to the outlet.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the San Jose Police Department Homicide Unit.