Interlude 2: Clippings from the Courier Bulletin (an excerpt) / by Brian Kunde

Interlude 2:
Clippings from the Courier Bulletin (an excerpt)
by Brian Kunde

Las Bellotas Courier Bulletin, Tuesday, June 12, 2001, p. 8.

“Victims Identified”
     City Coroner Berto Ravenna announced yesterday that dental records have confirmeed the decomposed body of a woman discovered last week in an abandoned Lawton residence as that of the missing Kimberly Corvie. The identity of the male body discovered in the same dwelling is now believed to be Israel Muñoz, long associated with Corvie. Nothing had been heard from either for well over two years prior to the bodies being found. Efforts to locate next of kin are ongoing—neither is known to have any close relatives surviving. The deaths are estimated to have occurred some three weeks prior to discovery, and have been ruled homicide. No suspects are in custody, but police are reported pursuing several leads. Anyone with information relevant to the case is encouraged to contact the department at 1-800-547-2700.
     Neighbors of the property indicate the victims or others had been making use of the vacant dwelling for an indeterminate time. The occupants appeared to consist of a man and a woman, neither often seen, as they kept to themselves and did little to maintain the property. The man was described as belligerent the woman as uncommunicative, retiring into the residence upon the slightest indication she had been observed. Reports of a child also having been seen about the premises could not be confirmed.
     Corvie, late of Jimmy’s Hollow, was a registered member of the Bellota Rancheria. Prior to her disappearance she made her living as a fortune teller and palm reader. She was the sole offspring of Mrs. Nancy Darrow, her predecessor in the business, known for having married some eight times. Muñoz, Corvie’s live-in boyfriend, was an unemployed construction worker and diagnosed schizophrenic who had multiple run-ins with the law over the years. He was arrested twice on drug-related charges, once for possession of paraphernalia and a second time for suspected dealing; the latter charge was dropped for want of evidence.
     The two were at the center of a court case three years ago brought on the accusation of Mrs. Darrow that Muñoz had stalked and abused her daughter. The case resulted in a hung jury, and the DA’s office elected not to retry. Darrow died shortly thereafter of natural causes, leaving the entirety of her modest estate to Corvie on condition that she drop all connection with Muñoz. Corvie complied with the terms to the satisfaction of the executors and claimed the legacy, but was after alleged to have to taken up with Muñoz again within a month of securing it. The bequest was challenged on that ground by the late Mrs. Darrow’s lawyer, and the suit was pending when Corvie and Muñoz went missing some six months after Darrow’s death. Corvie was believed to be pregnant by Muñoz at the time.
     Courier Bulletin staff contributed to this story.