A Google Earth image of the area in Balboa Park where the body was found
Early this summer, a tipster told San Diego police that there was a body buried in Balboa Park.
Now, on Tuesday, a third suspect is behind bars in connection with the shooting death of a man who was found in a shallow grave -- a murder, investigators say, involving a love triangle.
Gisela Icys Bowers, 42, was arrested last Thursday on suspicion of taking part in the slaying of 43-year-old James Garcia, who, like the trio of suspects in the case, was homeless at the time of his death, according to the San Diego Police Department.
All four of those involved were homeless at the time of the incident and living at the park back on May 3, police say.
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Acting on a tip from the public, detectives found Garcia's body buried on a hillside alongside state Route 163 near Richmond Street on July 25, SDPD Lt. Jonathan Dungan said.
The suspected shooter, 41-year-old Jeffrey Michael Jones, was arrested three days later. An alleged accomplice, Brandon Mario Winegarden, 28, was jailed Sept. 18 on suspicion of being an accessory after the fact. Investigators said in September that Winegarden helped Jones bury Garcia's body.
Investigators concluded that the victim had been gunned down weeks or months before his death came to light near the location where the makeshift grave ultimately was discovered, and that Winegarden helped Jones bury the body, police said.
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What prompted the alleged murder remains unclear, though Bowers had previously been in relationships with both Garcia and Jones, according to Dungan. Her alleged role in Garcia's death remains unclear, though she was booked on suspicion of first-degree murder.
"The [SDPD] Homicide Unit continues to investigate this case to develop more information regarding Garcia's death," the lieutenant said Tuesday.
Anyone with information about the killing is being urged to contact San Diego Police's homicide unit at (619) 531-2293. Tips can also be called in anonymously to Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
Bowers was being held without bail at Las Colinas women's jail in Santee pending trial.
