Pictured: Carmen Montenegro during her arraignment today.
Authorities said today that that the dismembered corpse found in a woman's trash can in Ontario may be her former boyfriend -- a 63-year-old Diamond Bar man who was reported missing by his family May 1.
Police and prosecutors declined to name the missing man because they haven't confirmed the identity of the remains.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office charged Carmen Montenegro today with murdering a man identified in a complaint as "John Doe."
Montenegro, 51, was arrested Sunday after she allegedly exhumed a dismembered corpse from the backyard of a home in the 700 block of North Holmes Avenue in Ontario, then pushed a trash can containing the remains 200 yards along residential streets.
Montenegro, of San Bernardino, pleaded not guilty to murder this afternoon during a brief arraignment in West Valley Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga.
Judge Michael Libutti set Montenegro's bail at $1 million, and scheduled her next court hearing for Thursday, when she may argue for reduced bail.
Montenegro said during the hearing that she feels $1 million bail is too high.
"That's not reasonable for me because I don't work," she said.
Montenegro was not represented by an attorney. She remained jailed at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
According to Montenegro's cousin, who was at the home in the 700 block of North Holmes Avenue during the incident, Montenegro arrived at the home with two day laborers at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
About a month ago, Montenegro dug several large holes in the home's backyard as part of what she described as a gardening project, said the cousin, Matthew Bell.
Bell said that on Sunday, Montenegro exhumed a body from the rear corner of the backyard and loaded the remains into a wheeled trash can.
The two day laborers left, and Montenegro asked Bell and others for help. They refused, left the home and walked north on Holmes Avenue.
Montenegro followed them, still dragging the trash can behind her, Bell said. She was arrested about 200 yards away from the home.
Ontario police Detective Jeff Crittenden said the missing person's report for Montenegro's former boyfriend was made May 1 at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Walnut station, whose patrol area includes Diamond Bar.
Crittenden declined to name the missing man because police haven't confirmed that the dismembered corpse recovered Sunday is him.
He said he was unsure of the time frame of Montenegro and the man's relationship.
"All I know is they had a dating relationship," Crittenden said. "I don't know the time frame."
Deputy District Attorney Nancy Cooper, who appeared in court for the prosecution during Montenegro's arraignment, said authorities may be able to identify the corpse through unique scars or tattoos, or through DNA comparison with possible relatives.
Authorities have declined to state what body parts were missing from the dismembered corpse found in the trash can.