Woman's body found 1 day after grandma found dead inside Banning home

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- A 25-year-old woman was found dead near her car in a remote area near Moreno Valley Monday morning, just a day after her 78-year-old grandmother was found beaten to death inside her mobile home in Banning, authorities said.

The Banning Police Department received a call from the California Highway Patrol reporting the recovery of a car connected to the elderly woman's homicide investigation.

Authorities found the car in a remote area near the intersection of Gilman Springs Road and Bold Style Avenue near Moreno Valley. Investigators then searched the area and found the woman's body around 9:45 a.m. Monday.

The woman's grandmother was found beaten to death inside her mobile home at the Mountain Air Mobile Home Park in the 4100 block of W. Wilson Street on Sunday afternoon, authorities said. The victim's 25-year-old granddaughter was reported missing shortly afterward.

"I think it's terrible. I was in the Marine Corps for 27 years and I never encountered this kind of stuff," neighbor Robert Chavez said.

Chavez said the 25-year-old woman was her grandmother's caregiver.

"She was living with her to help her," Chavez said.

Another neighbor told Eyewitness News she heard loud noises coming from the home Saturday morning, as if someone was ransacking the place. But it wasn't until the next evening that Banning police found the elderly woman dead.

Banning police said a suspect is not at large.

"The investigative team is still working this case, tying loose ends. However, I can tell you that the public does not need to worry about a killer on the loose," Banning Police Chief Alex Diaz said in a statement.

The names of the victims have not been released but those in the area identified the elderly woman as Bobby Wattley.