Mar 11, 2008 10:53 am US/Pacific
Woman's Body May Have Been On Dry Ice For A Year
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.
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The body of Monique Trepp was found on dry ice at the Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach.
CBS
The dead woman who was found packed in dry ice in a luxury hotel room rented by an alleged cocaine dealer may have been dead for nearly a year.
Authorities made the gruesome discovery Thursday at the Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach.
Stephen David Royds and Monique Felicia Trepp were regulars at Tapas, a restaurant across the street from the Fairmont, Arturo Flores, the eatery's general manager, told the Orange County Register.
In April or May, Royds told a restaurant employee that Trepp had died, Flores said, adding that he heard Royds held a memorial service for his deceased girlfriend.
"They came in all the time, up until almost a year ago, (when) she died," Flores told the Register.
Assistant District Attorney Dennis Conway would not confirm Flores' account, but said that "early indications indicate that it's apparently been quite a while" since Trepp died.
Royds, who police say was staying in the room where the body was found, had been living at the Fairmont for at least two years before being arrested on cocaine charges Thursday, Conway said.
Drug paraphernalia and wrapped Christmas presents were found in the room, Conway added.
Toxicology tests are pending, but Trepp is believed to have died of a drug overdose.
Royds, 46, has not been charged in the 33-year-old's death. He appeared in court Monday and pleaded not guilty to felony narcotics charges tied to his alleged possession of an ounce of cocaine.
Susan Kang Schroeder of Orange County District Attorney's office said Royds would probably not face charges for failing to report the death.
Trepp was on the varsity cheerleading squad at Norco High School, where she graduated in 1992.
Royds was born in New Zealand, Conway said, but it's not clear if he's a U.S. citizen.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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