Reporting Deputy: Sergeant Ben Ramirez
File # MV223220307
Update:
This investigation was determined to be a case of domestic violence, occurring shortly after child custody exchange of two twin seven year old boys. The victims in this case were identified as Esmeralda Casillas, 36 years of El Cajon (mother of the twins), and Esmeralda’s mother, Ofelia Casillas, 68 years of El Cajon. The suspect, Salvador Velasquez, received the children from Esmeralda, prior to the shooting. During the service of the search warrant in Coachella on November 19, 2022, the twin boys were found safely.
This investigation is currently on-going and no further information will be released at this time. If anyone has information regarding this investigation, they are encouraged to call Investigator Cline of the Central Homicide Unit at 951-955-2777 or Investigator Castellanos of the Moreno Valley Station at 951-486-6700.
Update:
During the course of the investigation, a suspect was identified. On November 19, 2022, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Major Crimes Unit and Special Weapons and Tactics Team, served a search warrant at the suspect’s residence in Coachella. The suspect, Salvador Velasquez, a 39-year-old resident of Coachella, was arrested for two counts of murder and booked at the John Benoit Detention Center.
The victims’ identities will not be released, pending next of kin notification. This investigation is currently on-going and no further information will be released at this time. If anyone has information regarding this investigation, they are encouraged to call Investigator Cline of the Central Homicide Unit at 951–955–2777 or Investigator Castellanos of the Moreno Valley Station at 951-486-6700.
Details:
On November 18, 2022, at 7:48 PM, deputies from the Moreno Valley Station responded to a report of a shooting in the area of Eucalyptus Avenue and the Old Highway 215 in Moreno Valley. Deputies arrived within minutes and located two adult females in a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. Emergency medical personnel arrived at the scene and transported both victims to a local hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries. Deputies secured the area as a crime scene and investigators from the Moreno Valley Station and Central Homicide Unit responded to assume the investigation.
The victims’ identities will not be released at this time, pending next of kin notification. Investigators are following all suspect leads. This investigation is currently on-going and no further information will be released at this time. If anyone has information regarding this investigation, they are encouraged to call Investigator Cline of the Central Homicide Unit at 951-955-2777 or Investigator Castellanos of the Moreno Valley Station at 951-486-6700.
Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s Homicide Tipline online form.
For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.
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