- Lake County News reports
- Posted On
REGIONAL: Man arrested for murders of two women in Colusa County
Martin Christian Ehrke, 49, who along with the women and other individuals was reported to have lived at the farm, was arrested on Thursday, according to the Colusa County Sheriff’s Office. He was arraigned on Friday.
The women whose bodies were found at the farm were identified by authorities as 39-year-old Kimberly Lynn Taylor and 25-year-old Jessica Lynn Mazak.
At 3:55 a.m. the Colusa County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence in the 6000 block of Hillgate Road in Arbuckle, for a report of suspicious circumstances, officials said.
Upon the arrival of first responders, deputies were informed of a possible human body in a freezer, located in an attached residence on the property. The sheriff’s office said deputies discovered evidence of a crime scene as well as a possible body inside a freezer.
On-scene deputies notified detectives from the sheriff’s office, who also responded. A search warrant was prepared for the entire property and served at approximately 10 a.m. Thursday, according to the sheriff’s office report.
Upon service of the search warrant, detectives confirmed that an adult female body had been placed inside a chest freezer, inside a bedroom, in an attached residence on the property.
The sheriff’s office identified the deceased adult female as Taylor.
The Colusa County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Justice continued to investigate the scene as well as interviewing persons who reside at the property.
Evidence from the investigation led to request of the Colusa County Dive Team to search a large pond located on the property. A second adult female was found submerged in the pond and recovered by the dive team. The deceased adult female was identified as Mazak, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities said both Taylor and Mazak were known to reside on the property, but had no relationship to the property owner. Investigators also found an illegal marijuana grow and narcotics on the property.
Ehrke was detained on Thursday and taken to the Colusa County Sheriff’s Office for questioning. During the investigation, it was discovered that he left the residence on Wednesday evening and checked into the Colusa Medical Center for an unknown reason. He was released from the hospital a short time later, officials said.
The investigation led the Colusa County Sheriff’s Office to a residence in Colusa, where Ehrke was found and detained for questioning.
Ehrke was later charged with two counts of homicide and booked into the Colusa County Jail.
If anyone has information regarding this incident, they are asked to contact Sgt. Jose Ruiz or Detective Marvin Garibay at 530-458-0200.