On this day, one year ago (September 2, 2022)… A man with a history of sexual offenses, who had been convicted of killing a 47-year-old woman in Hemet and leaving her body in an abandoned car in Vista, San Diego County, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and auto theft.
The defendant, Michael Lee Lorence, 46, was apprehended last month after an investigation by the Hemet Police Department into the death of Melanie Conroy.
Lorence appeared before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Singerton, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for January 31 at the Banning Justice Center.
Lorence is currently being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
According to Hemet Police Lt. Michael Mouat, Conroy was reported missing on the afternoon of July 27 from her residence on Mellisa Drive, just north of Fruitvale Avenue.
Mouat stated that within a day of her family filing a missing person report, evidence emerged suggesting that Melanie’s disappearance was not voluntary.
Homicide detectives took charge of the investigation and, on the afternoon of July 29, discovered the victim’s car in the parking lot of a Vista Park & Ride.
Conroy’s body was found stuffed in the trunk of the vehicle.
Investigators gathered enough undisclosed evidence to identify Lorence as the alleged perpetrator. They also discovered that he was already incarcerated at a detention center in San Diego County due to an unrelated fugitive warrant.
On August 12, the defendant was formally arrested for the murder, and the Hemet Police initiated the process of transferring Lorence from the San Diego County facility to Riverside County, which was completed five days later.
No motive for the alleged attack has been provided, and authorities have not disclosed any relationship between the victim and Lorence.
Court records indicate that Lorence has previous convictions for sex offenses in another jurisdiction, although the details are not provided. He also has convictions in Riverside County for vehicle theft, failure to register as a sex offender, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
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