The incident unfolded Tuesday afternoon at the suspect's home on Maple Avenue, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department. That's where the victim, identified as Julie Anne Sanetra, of Irvine, was found in a trash can in the backyard of the home.
Investigators would not say what made them respond to the home. Officers determined they were dealing with an isolated incident, and it was domestic violence related.
The woman's boyfriend, Daniel Allen Aldrich, 49, was arrested on suspicion of murder several hours later at a family member's home in Glendale.
Man arrested for allegedly killing woman in Costa Mesa
"We were able to, with the help of Glendale Police Department, bring him into custody very safely and quickly," Costa Mesa police Deputy Chief Joyce LaPointe said. "It's always good during these investigations to quickly be able to bring resolution and arrest a suspect, and that's exactly what our CMPD detectives did."
Additional details about the woman's death and what led up to it were not available. A cause of death has not been released.
An investigation is ongoing. The case now goes to the Orange County District Attorney to consider charges against Aldrich.
A sense of disbelief loomed over the community after the discovery was made.
"It's a nice residential area," LaPointe said. "This is something that we don't see very often here."