Police on Tuesday said the person found deceased in an apartment in Santa Barbara’s West Beach neighborhood last week was a 39-year-old Santa Barbara man.
Santa Barbara Police Department Commander Ben Ahrens identified the man as Lawrence Brennen.
Police conducted a welfare check at the residence on the 100 block of Los Aguajes Avenue on Oct. 27. They returned the following day with a search warrant and found Brennen deceased inside.
Two people — Jenica Ochoa, 45, and Kenneth Tompkins, 43 — have been arrested in the incident and criminally charged with concealing an accidental death.
They are accused of concealing Brennen’s body from family, friends or law enforcement, wrapping it up in a bedroll, putting it in a metal container, and wrapping the metal container with plastic wrap, per Superior Court records.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office arrest records indicate that both lived in the same building on Los Aguajes Avenue as the one in which the body was found.
They were arraigned on charges of felony conspiracy, concealing a death — a misdemeanor — and second strike enhancements on Friday.
Both have pleaded not guilty.
They are set to return to court on Nov. 30.
They were no longer in police custody as of Tuesday afternoon.
Ahrens told Noozhawk on Monday that Ochoa and Tompkins were the only two people who had been arrested in connection with this incident at that time. Both have previous felony convictions.
Additional information about the circumstances surrounding Brennen’s death was not available.
