Veronica Aguilar: 27-year-old UCLA graduate identified after charred body discovered in burned car trunk
LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA: A 27-year-old elementary school teacher and UCLA graduate who was found dead in the trunk of a car on Wednesday, December 20 has been identified.
Veronica Aguilar is believed to have been set on fire in her boyfriend Matthew Switalski's garage, with neighbors reporting hearing screams before the explosion.
Boyfriend identified as person of interest in home explosion case
On Thursday, December 21, the boyfriend was arrested on suspicion of murder, following the discovery of Aguilar’s body by firefighters on Wednesday morning at his Quartz Hill home.
According to KTLA, authorities responded to reports of a home explosion in the 41400 block of 38th Street West around 8:30 am on Wednesday.
Firefighters discovered heavy smoke and fire emanating from the garage. Once the fire crews successfully extinguished the fire within the garage, they uncovered two charred vehicles.
Aguilar’s lifeless body was located in the trunk of a car, as confirmed by the police department. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department stated that Switalski is the owner of the home and has been identified as a person of interest in the case.
He was located in Kern County late Thursday and booked on suspicion of murder, FOXLA reported.
Neighbors heard a woman screaming
Residents in the Los Angeles suburb informed KTLA that Aguilar and Switalski were believed to have been in a relationship at some point.
Neighbors additionally reported hearing a woman screaming and what seemed like an explosion just before the fire erupted.
“Around 2 am, I heard a blood-curdling scream,” a neighbor who did not wish to be identified told the outlet. “I had just opened my window after I was finished with some work and when I went to go check, I didn’t hear it anymore.”
The cause of death has not yet been released.
Family and friends mourn Aguilar’s death
Aguilar’s family and friends said she was a smart, kind, and amazing person who had a bright future ahead of her.
She graduated from UCLA and taught in Palmdale. “Things will never be the same ever again. We miss her so much,” her brother Juan Aguilar wrote on the GoFundMe page.
"She had the best spirit, she always had a smile. My family is heartbroken," Juan added in the fundraiser, which has already raised over $20,000.
Neighbors informed KTLA that Switalski had previously worked for Northrop Grumman and allegedly rented out multiple rooms in his home to employees of the company.
According to court records cited by Fox LA, he was being held on $10 million bail. The report also mentioned that he had been arrested in May for an unspecified felony.
