Police arrest 2 suspects in death of missing Alameda County woman

HAYWARD (KTVU & BCN) -- Police announced Friday that two suspects have been arrested in the death of a missing Bay Area woman who worked as a volunteer with the Alameda County sheriff's office.

Investigators declined to release the identities of the two suspects who are in custody in the death of Karla Ramirez-Segoviano, 21, of San Leandro. She was last seen Wednesday night around 10 p.m. after she dropped off her friend at a home on 136th Avenue in San Leandro. Her burned and stabbed body was found Thursday afternoon in Oakland's Arroyo Viejo Park.

Police held a news conference Friday afternoon to provide more details about the case.

The Alameda County Sheriff's Office filed a missing persons report for Ramirez-Segoviano on Wednesday.

She was found unresponsive at the park's entrance in the 7700 block of Krause Avenue just before noon on Thursday, Oakland police said.

She was identified by the Alameda County Coroner's Office through her fingerprints at around 2 p.m. on Friday. Police said it was difficult to ID the victim because she was so badly burned and that she also had suffered blunt-force trauma. 

The two suspects, a male and female from Oakland, were questioned on Friday by homicide investigators, and were initially considered persons of interest, police said. 

The news conference revealed that the incident that led to the victim's death was a personal matter and that they also had a suspect car in the case.

During the 3:30 p.m. news conference, police said they were confident they'd soon be making arrests in the case and two hours later, at around 5:30 p.m. Friday, those arrests were made. 

The victim's friendship was said to be closer linked to the female suspect, according to police.

Police said the victim's family members became concerned for her well being after she failed to return home from giving her friend a ride Wednesday night. She was reported missing the night the homicide occurred. Police reached out to the victim's family Thursday night after her body was discovered. 

Ramirez-Segoviano's car was later spotted at the intersection of Happyland and West, in Hayward after midnight.

"She was a very kind sweet girl. She minded her business. She's really timid," said Jhoseline who declined to give her last name and says she's a friend of Karla's. "There's something special about her that made her unique even though she wasn't outgoing or really loud.  She really had a huge heart she can tell by her actions. She didn't have to use a lot of words." 

J.D. Nelson from the Alameda County Sheriff's office said Karla had been an Alameda County Sheriff's Explorer for four years and that youth, usually recruited through local high schools, can volunteer in the program until they are 21-years-old.

Jhoseline says she and Karla bonded over similar interests.  They shared a Mexican-American heritage, attended San Lorenzo High School together and the two joined the Sheriff's Explorer Program.  

"For this to happen to her is just shocking because she wanted to be a part of the law.  She wanted to prevent things like this from happening.  For this to happen to her is mind blowing," says Jhoseline. 

Nelson said he did not personally know the victim, but he had met her before and that these are usually, "good kids". 

Karla's Aunt Ana Ramirez says Karla was the youngest of three children and lived with her parents in a close-knit family. They say they can't fathom why anyone would hurt her.

Detectives believe the victim was killed in in the park, but have not released a motive as to why her friend would allegedly want her killed. 

Investigators will be forwarding the case to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office for review and charging on Monday, according to police.

"I have no sympathy for those people. I hope they get what they deserve, especially one of them who called her a friend . You can never do that to a friend," says Jhoseline. 

Jhoseline and family members say Karla aspired to be a sheriff's deputy or police officer and that it was a long-time goal and one she was passionate about.

Karla had been attending Los Positas College in Livermore and working at Kentucky Fried Chicken.

She still found time to volunteer as an advisor to younger cadets with the Sheriff's Explorer Program after she aged out of the program when she turned 21.