Teen Arrested in Connection With Body Found in Burned SUV

Murder charges have been filed against a 17-year-old-boy in connection with a body that was discovered in the back of a burnt SUV in Rancho Palos Verdes, police announced Friday.

On April 23, Los Angeles County Fire personnel put out a vehicle fire on the 30100 block of Miraleste Drive and discovered the burnt body of Christopher Waters, a 42-year-old Long Beach resident. According to a Los Angeles Sheriff's Department press release, the body had the feet bound together and a cord wrapped around the neck.

According to the release, the teen boy, who is also a Long Beach resident, voluntarily walked into the Long Beach Police Department on April 27 and requested to talk to homicide investigators. Police released few details and it was not clear if the teen offered a confession or when he was arrested, but he was charged with murder Friday and is being held without bail at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall.

Police believe Waters was killed in Long Beach and his body driven to Rancho Palos Verdes in the SUV, where that vehicle was then set on fire, according to the release. The teen's identity, a cause of death and a possible motive for the homicide has not yet been released by police.

Since 2007, there have been three homicides in Rancho Palos Verdes, according to the Los Angeles Times Homicide Report.

Read Patch's previous stories on this incident here:

• Autopsy Conducted on Body Found in Burned SUV
• Update: Burned Body Found in SUV Identified