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Buckeye police arrest suspect in yearlong homicide case

Posted 5/12/20

A man has been arrested in connection with the death of a woman found in a shallow grave in the Buckeye area.

Joshua Escoto-Cisneros, 28, was booked into jail Tuesday on charges of second-degree …

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Buckeye police arrest suspect in yearlong homicide case

Posted

A man has been arrested in connection with the death of a woman found in a shallow grave in the Buckeye area.

Joshua Escoto-Cisneros, 28, was booked into jail Tuesday on charges of second-degree murder, abandoning/concealing a dead body, and evidence tampering.

Buckeye police had been investigating the death of Marisa Bell, who was found in a shallow grave near the Robins Butte Wildlife Area, west of State Route 85 and mile post 147 on April 10, 2019. Police said two people visiting from California found the body while walking their dogs in the area.

Police learned Ms. Bell had been missing out of Nevada but was known to be living in the Phoenix area. They also found her belongings near 411th Avenue and Indian School Road. Police obtained her phone records and found communication between Ms. Bell and Mr. Escoto-Cisneros from March 4, 2019, when Mr. Escoto-Cisneros arranged a prostitution deal with her, according to court documents.

Police arrested Mr. Escoto-Cisneros on a DUI warrant Tuesday at a sober living outreach center in New River. He allegedly admitted to meeting with Ms. Bell at a hotel near Baseline Road and Interstate 10 in order to have sex. While at the hotel, Mr. Escoto-Cisneros claimed Ms. Bell gave him a look of disgust. In reaction, he allegedly choked her to death.

He kept Ms. Bell’s body in his vehicle for about a week before dumping her in the shallow grave in the Buckeye area, records state. He then stayed at a home in Avondale before driving to San Diego, and then back to the Phoenix area.

Mr. Escoto-Cisneros was jailed in lieu of $1 million bond.