Phoenix woman accused of killing runaway and dumping body
Authorities say a woman is accused of fatally strangling a runaway in her Phoenix apartment and wrapping the victim’s body in plastic before dumping it in the trash.
Phoenix police say 29-year-old Lorenda Gean Ritter is jailed on a $750,000 bond on suspicion of first-degree murder and concealing a dead body.
They say Ritter drove detectives to the trash container where the body was found.
Police say a possible motive for the killing remains isn’t known yet.
They haven’t publicly identified the victim, but court records state that she was an 18-year-old runaway from California who had been reported missing by her family.
It was unclear Monday if Ritter has a lawyer for her case.
Her next scheduled court appearance is an Aug. 21 preliminary hearing.
