Police have arrested a man in the February death of a woman found in an Old Town Scottsdale alley.
Loring Sendejas, 33, was found dead just before 8 a.m. Feb. 5. Lab results showed no physical trauma, but she had fentanyl in her system and her blood-alcohol content was .28 percent, Scottsdale police said. Additionally, she had injuries consistent with sexual assault.
Gregory Oliver, a friend of the victim, said Sendejas never would have knowingly taken fentanyl.
"Whether that was taken voluntarily, or otherwise, we don't have the ability to prove at this point," said Kevin Watts with the Scottsdale Police Department.
Police arrested Avondale resident Vincent Parker, 51, April 17 near his home after using video surveillance to tie his white Range Rover to the scene where Sendejas was found. His DNA matched that found during the sexual assault examination, a Tuesday release from the Scottsdale Police Department said.
Police said they had obtained Parker's DNA following a DUI traffic stop.
The prior evening, witnesses reported seeing Sendejas with a man matching Parker's description.
Parker admitted after his arrest that he'd met Sendejas and brought her to his house, but he said he didn't have sex with her because she was too drunk to consent. He told investigators that she passed out while he was driving her to Scottsdale.
He admitted to leaving her on a staircase on the backside of a building there and calling 911.
"I'm bittersweet. I'm so happy that we finally know what happened and that we have somebody I can put all my anger towards," said Oliver about the arrest.
Parker faces charges of sexual assault, endangerment and abandonment of a dead body. But he is not facing charges in the victim's actual death.
The announcement of the arrest garnered a mix of emotions from family and friends.
"Having to deal with her death with no answers was really unbearable," Oliver said. "Now, having answers, it's not going to bring her back, but also we have justice."
Oliver said he's hoping to start a foundation in Sendejas's name that would assist in solving cold cases.