A Lawrenceville man was arrested and charged with felony murder after allegedly killing his ex-girlfriend, then setting her car on fire with her body still inside.
The Gwinnett County Police Department said in a press release they were requested to conduct a welfare check on Rubi Maldonado Nava, 28, of Lawrenceville Thursday night at Club Lakes Parkway.
Detectives were called to investigate associates of Nava after she was not found at her home.
Detectives received information that Nava may have been harmed or killed by her ex-boyfriend, Jahir Alejandro Conteras Sagahon, 29, of Lawrenceville. Sagahon was later located returning to his residence and brought in for questioning.
Sagahon admitted to being at Nava’s residence where they got into an argument whilst their child was present. The argument became physical and Sagohon choked Nava until she stopped breathing. He then loaded Nava’s body into her vehicle, drove to Oglethorpe County and set the vehicle on fire.
Sagahon also had severe burns on his face and hands.
Gwinnett County Homicide detectives worked together with the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Department to locate Nava and her vehicle. The vehicle was located severely burned with skeletal remains located inside. The remains were turned over to the Medical Examiner’s office for proper identification. The vehicle was brought to police headquarters for Arson Investigators and Crime Scene Technicians to process.
Sagahon has been charged with felony murder, cruelty to children in the third degree and aggravated assault. He was booked into the Gwinnett County Detention Center.
