Found Deceased CA - Melissa & Johnny Soto, married but recently separated, parents of 3, her phone & wallet in her car, his phone off, San Ysidro, 20 Dec 2023

[Chimera]

Timeline based on news reports
8:51 p.m. Melissa’s car pulls into the driveway
9:51 p.m. Johnny's truck is seen pulling in driveway and son is asked to leave shortly after
10:19 p.m. Melissa’s car pulls out of the driveway and then reparks in reverse
10:25 p.m. the garage door and car trunk both open
10:32 p.m. Johnny reverses, comes out of the truck, comes back out
10:33 p.m. Johnny drives off in truck
10:48-53 p.m. Johnnys phone is turned off

If the son saw the mom then it was most likely her pulling her car in even though she wasnt seen on video and if he was asked to leave a little bit after Johnny returned home this timeline only leaves 30 minutes tops for something to occur based on when Johnny is seen leaving the residence for the last time.

Where did she go if she is not seen leaving in the truck? If nothing was in her trunk and the house didnt leave any clues of a struggle or crime she had to have either left on foot not being seen on footage (highly unlikely) or Johnny put her in the back of the pickup truck that would have to be out of the neighbors view since he could see only him enter the truck and pull off.

Thanks for the breakdown of events as they happened.
Sounds sus. as heck, but am waiting for LE updates.
My mind went to murder/suicide, sadly.
This doesn't look as if they both just wanted time away for a while -- since they were essentially separated, why run off ... together ?
Omo.

 

[Chimera]

Sad..
Im confused how it took them almost a week to find them

Bbm.
Just read your post.
Agreed.
Found in the casino parking lot ?


Awful news !
My condolences to their grieving children and other loved ones.
Why ????
Esp. at this time of year.

 

[indicolite22]

Timeline based on news reports
8:51 p.m. Melissa’s car pulls into the driveway
9:51 p.m. Johnny's truck is seen pulling in driveway and son is asked to leave shortly after
10:19 p.m. Melissa’s car pulls out of the driveway and then reparks in reverse
10:25 p.m. the garage door and car trunk both open
10:32 p.m. Johnny reverses, comes out of the truck, comes back out
10:33 p.m. Johnny drives off in truck
10:48-53 p.m. Johnnys phone is turned off

If the son saw the mom then it was most likely her pulling her car in even though she wasnt seen on video and if he was asked to leave a little bit after Johnny returned home this timeline only leaves 30 minutes tops for something to occur based on when Johnny is seen leaving the residence for the last time.

Where did she go if she is not seen leaving in the truck? If nothing was in her trunk and the house didnt leave any clues of a struggle or crime she had to have either left on foot not being seen on footage (highly unlikely) or Johnny put her in the back of the pickup truck that would have to be out of the neighbors view since he could see only him enter the truck and pull off.

If she was harmed in the home then it must not have been a messy crime scene due to the short time frame.

 

[charminglane]

Sad..
Im confused how it took them almost a week to find them

It is a bigger area than you think. If it is busy, their car could go unnoticed.

https://www.goldenacorncasino.com/travel-center/

Lot's of parking, slots, trucker fueling and parking, market.

 

[StarRemy8]

Bodies of missing San Ysidro parents located at Golden Acorn Casino: Police

Melissa and Johnny Soto were missing since Dec. 20

www.nbcsandiego.com

So devastating and to think that their son will have to live with the guilt of knowing that his mother was killed most likely when his dad asked him to leave their house and texted him after "the coast is clear" is terrible. I wonder if he went in the casino at all or anywhere prior to arriving there? And how long were they there...did he drive straight there and it just took that long to notice car?

 

[Justice101]

Sad..
Im confused how it took them almost a week to find them

Casino parking lots are private property.

Also, there are many cars there day and night.

Not surprised it took a while to find them.

So, I am guessing he took her body with him to the casino parking lot, then killed himself there.. so that his son didn't have to discover her/his bodies.


That seems like the only decent thing the Dad did.

 

[alexwood]

May have gone into the casino, had some liquid courage, then came back out to his truck and killed himself. Very bizarre. I'm getting the impression that he wanted to reconcile with his wife, but she didn't want that.

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

So which vehicle were they found in? The truck? I'm kind of confused. The articles say that her car pulled in, what appeared to be a man got out. Then later, a man comes up, backs the car up to the garage and pops the trunk. Then just the man left in the truck? Said she's never seen on the camera footage.

Was she killed beforehand and then the car was backed up and the trunk was popped to switch things over to the truck which he then left in?

The article from NBC states the dad told his son he wanted to talk to his mom (while him and the son were watching TV). So did the son never even see his mom?

Can someone explain this like I'm five?

 

[charminglane]

So which vehicle were they found in? The truck? I'm kind of confused. The articles say that her car pulled in, what appeared to be a man got out. Then later, a man comes up, backs the car up to the garage and pops the trunk. Then just the man left in the truck? Said she's never seen on the camera footage.

Was she killed beforehand and then the car was backed up and the trunk was popped to switch things over to the truck which he then left in?

Can someone explain this like I'm five?

It's a word problem.

 

[charminglane]

It's a word problem.

Does he pop the trunk as a diversion, knowing it will be recorded?

 

[Chimera]

It's a word problem.

Maybe some misreporting ?

 

[charminglane]

Maybe some misreporting ?

Maybe.
I was thinking like a math problem from grammar school. Too many details to make sense.
Sorry.

 

[alexwood]

Does he pop the trunk as a diversion, knowing it will be recorded?

Does he pop the trunk to obscure the view of carrying her body out through the garage and into his truck?

 

[Justice101]

Does he pop the trunk to obscure the view of carrying her body out through the garage and into his truck?

Is there a link to the video by chance? Or is this just a description from police?

 

[charminglane]

Does he pop the trunk to obscure the view of carrying her body out through the garage and into his truck?

Great thought.

 

[alexwood]

Is there a link to the video by chance? Or is this just a description from police?

The video is unclear. This is a description.

Video at 00:39 shows the vehicle movement.

San Ysidro parents disappear right before Christmas

Johnny and Melissa Soto separated over the summer but talked regularly, including the night they disappeared.

www.cbs8.com

 

[TexLil]

Casino parking lots are private property.

Also, there are many cars there day and night.

Not surprised it took a while to find them.

So, I am guessing he took her body with him to the casino parking lot, then killed himself there.. so that his son didn't have to discover her/his bodies.


That seems like the only decent thing the Dad did.

Not decent imo more likely selfish. Gave himself distance/time so he wouldn't be caught before his finished his plan. If this plays out as expected, this is one evil person robbing estranged wife of her life and adult children of their mother. MOO

 

[alexwood]

"A different neighbor’s surveillance video shows the garage door and car trunk both open six minutes later. Arzola believes Johnny can be seen on the video. Family said police checked the trunk and didn’t find anything. Arzola said he saw a man get back in his silver Toyota Tacoma before driving off at 10:33 p.m. He added he never saw Melissa on his surveillance footage."

Bodies of missing San Ysidro parents located at Golden Acorn Casino: Police

Melissa and Johnny Soto were missing since Dec. 20

www.nbcsandiego.com

 

[charminglane]

Was Mom seen at that house that day?
Or did he have her meet him somewhere and he started moving cars after?

 

[TexLil]

Is there a link to the video by chance? Or is this just a description from police?

This article has some video stills

San Diego parents VANISH days before Christmas, sparking search San Diego parents VANISH days before Christmas, sparking search