Two Santa Maria residents were arrested Tuesday after a body believed to be that of a missing man was found in a Nipomo golf course pond.
Santa Barbara County sheriff’s investigators arrested Kimberly Machleit, 35, and Donald Anderson, 37, for their alleged involvement in a killing and disposal of the victim’s body in December 2018.
The arrests came after the Sheriff’s Office dive team conducted a search at a golf course in the 1400 block of Golf Course Lane at Blacklake Golf Resort in Nipomo.
“As a result of the search, the suspected missing person’s remains were recovered from a lake on the property,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick said.
The adult male victim’s identification is pending verification by the Coroner’s Bureau and will be released once it has been confirmed, she added.
“This investigation is ongoing, but it appears that the victim was murdered in the city of Santa Maria and dismembered before being disposed of at the golf course in December 2018,” Zick said. “The suspects and the victim knew each other, and this was not a random act.”
Early Tuesday morning, detectives served search and arrest warrants on the 2200 block of Professional Parkway in the city of Santa Maria, where Machleit and Anderson were taken into custody.
Machleit was booked at the Santa Barbara County Main Jail on suspicion of murder with special circumstances and conspiracy. She was being held in lieu of $2 million bail.
Anderson was booked at the Main Jail on suspicion of accessory to murder and was being held in lieu of $1 million bail.
The pair were arrested along with a third person in late August after sheriff’s detectives served a search warrant at the Professional Parkway location.
Deputies also seized drugs and stolen firearms, plus recovered five fraudulently obtained vehicles, authorities said about the Aug. 25 law enforcement operation.
As a result of the August search warrant, detectives seized 605 grams of methamphetamine, 12 grams of heroin, items related to narcotics sales, a stolen Smith and Wesson M&P15 rifle, a 30 round rifle magazine, a stolen Sig Sauer P365 handgun, a J.Stevens Arms sawed off 12-gauge shotgun, and two non-serialized 9-mm handguns, referred to as “ghost guns,” and over $2,000 in cash.
Anyone with information about the killing can call the Sheriff’s Office tip line at 805.681.4171 or visit the department’s website to make an anonymous tip by clicking here.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.