A suspect is still at large in the unsolved murder of a young mother, whose body was discovered consumed in flames on a Southern California roadway.
Karla Terron, 27, was discovered dead on the Hosking Avenue off-ramp of Bakersfield’s southbound 99 Freeway around 5 a.m. on December 17, 2022.
Terron had spent the night before her murder with friends at San Fernando’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3834.
She later traveled to a residence in San Fernando and was murdered. Authorities suspect her body was transferred in the trunk of a white 2021 Honda CRV and then abandoned in Bakersfield.
An autopsy indicated that she died from several stab wounds. Authorities believe the suspect set Terron’s body on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence.
Terron, who lived in San Fernando, was the mother of two young children, ages eight and ten. She worked as a server in a nearby restaurant.
“She was not affiliated with any kind of gang,” LASD Lt. Michael Modica stated during a press briefing on Thursday. “She was a good, upstanding citizen.”
Investigators received information that a gunshot was heard near Knox Street around the time of the event.
Terron’s cell phone is still gone. Officials did not reveal who owned the Honda CRV, but Modica stated, “We have people of interest we are looking into.”
Detectives are seeking public assistance in the case. Anyone who witnessed the suspect’s car near the VFW Bar or on Knox Street during the late night of December 16, 2022, and the early morning of December 17, 2022, is asked to contact authorities.
Anyone who heard gunfire on Knox Street that night or recovered a cell phone in the San Fernando area should notify LASD as per KTLA.
“We hope people will have the courage to come forward,” Modica told the crowd.
Terron’s loved ones are still “devastated; they lost a family member and a mother, and it’s been very hard for them,” Modica added.