Details emerge after Hanford woman found dead in closet | YourCentralValley.com

HANFORD, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A routine welfare check in Hanford led to the discovery of an elderly woman found dead in a plastic-wrapped closet in her home.

“I was actually worried because I wasn’t sure what happened. After we found out she was in a closet, she had died, and I immediately thought someone had broken into the house,” said Gabriel Virrutea of ​​Hanford.

On May 18, residents of a Hanford neighborhood noticed that the elderly resident of a home had not been seen in weeks. A concerned neighbor called the police, who went to the house to conduct a welfare check. Investigators found the victim, a woman in her 60s, dead and locked in a closet.

“The body began to decompose. It was wrapped in plastic. plastic bags and that led us to believe that this was not a natural cause,” said Lieutenant Justin Vallin with Hanford Police.

Officers later identified 37-year-old Kelli Yingling as the suspect. Investigators discovered that Yingling lived at the house. Yingling was questioned by detectives who said she made statements accusing herself of murder.

“An autopsy was carried out today and the coroner found signs of strangulation on the body. And at this point the victim has not been identified. We are waiting for the DNA results, which should take about a week,” said Lt. Vallin.

Yingling was already in custody at the Kings County Jail. She was arrested two weeks ago after a chase that had nothing to do with the murder. The victim’s neighbors on Encore Drive said they were shocked because police officers live near the house where the body was found.

“When the district was founded, the police were almost exclusively responsible here. They used to call it “cop country” somehow. Hardly a crime, I mean there are a few kids doing stupid things but nothing like what happened.”

Yingling remains in custody without bail and police are not releasing any information about a possible motive.