Pictured is Carmen Montelongo's home in Riverside in the 6200 block of Indian Camp Road, where a neighbor said she's lived the last three years. Ontario police have been collecting evidence at the home in recent days.
Police in recent days have been collecting evidence at the Riverside residence of a woman who allegedly exhumed a dismembered corpse Sunday and wheeled it in a trash container down residential streets in Ontario.
Ontario police and the woman's neighbors said investigators have visited the home several times in recent days.
A neighbor said today that police appeared to take evidence from the home in the 6200 block of Indian Camp Road. A police spokesman declined to specify what investigators found.
Carmen Montelongo was arrested Sunday after she allegedly exhumed a dismembered corpse in the backyard of a relative's home in the 700 block of North Holmes Avenue.
She exhumed the corpse with help from a possible day laborer, according to her cousin, and later loaded the remains into a trash can.
After the laborer left, Montelongo sought help from her cousin, Matthew Bell, who refused to help and called 9-1-1 as he left the home on foot.
Montelongo followed Bell, still asking for help, and wheeled the trash can behind her. She was arrested by Ontario police about 200 yards from her home.
Bell said he believes Montelongo may have buried the corpse about a month ago, when she dug several large holes in the backyard during what she said was a gardening project.
The corpse remained unidentified today, though police suspect the body may be a 63-year-old ex-boyfriend of Montelongo's from Diamond Bar, said Detective Jeff Crittenden.
The man, who police have not named, was reported missing by his family May 1.
Montelongo was identified in earlier reports as Carmen Montenegro, which police now say is an alias. Montelongo is her true last name, Crittenden said.
Montelongo also uses two different dates of birth, one in October 1959 and another in March 1967, police said. Crittenden said he doesn't know which is Montelongo's true date of birth.
Three detectives were at Montelongo's home at about 4 p.m. today to interview a witness in the case who planned to meet them there, they said.
No one answered the front door this afternoon. The door jamb was broken, possibly from a forced police entry, and unopened mail, shoes and other debris were scattered in the front yard.
Some of the mail was addressed to Carmen Montelongo.
One of Montelongo's neighbors, who asked to remain unnamed, said Montelongo has lived in the home for about three years with her son and daughter, who are both in their 20s.
She said Montelongo was soft-spoken and polite.
"I would never, ever expect this from Carmen -- never," the woman said. "Because she seems like she cared and would never hurt anyone."
The neighbor said police have visited Montelongo's home several times in recent days. They took carpeting from the home as well as what appeared to be boxes of evidence, she said.
Crittenden said an autopsy is scheduled to be performed Thursday on the remains recovered Sunday from the trash container in Ontario.
Crittenden said medical examiners may render a preliminary opinion today on the man's cause of death.
The body will also likely be examined for scars, tattoos or other marks that could help investigators identify the corpse, Crittenden said.
Police have declined to discuss which body parts are missing from the remains.
Crittenden said police are conducting further investigative work in Los Angeles and Riverside counties.
Investigators are visiting men associated with Montelongo to verify they're alive in order to isolate the potential identity of the victim, Crittenden said.