The body of 33-year-old Sheylla Gutierrez was discovered in the Angeles National Forest on August 16, 2025, wrapped in fabric similar to material seen in surveillance footage showing her husband dragging a large object from their Lancaster apartment complex.
Gutierrez was reported missing on August 12 to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lancaster Station. During their investigation on August 13, deputies discovered video surveillance showing her husband, 36-year-old Jossimar Cabrera, dragging a large object wrapped in material from the apartment complex in the 500 block of Lancaster Boulevard where the family lived with their three young sons.
Search and rescue teams from Altadena, Crescenta Valley and Montrose Mountain began scouring parts of the Angeles National Forest after the surveillance footage was discovered. At approximately 10 a.m. on August 16, the Montrose Mountain Search and Rescue Team found Gutierrez’s body over the side of an embankment, wrapped in material similar to what Cabrera was seen dragging in the video.
Cabrera fled to Peru with the couple’s three children before his wife’s body was discovered. Investigators worked with the Mexican General Consulate and the Peruvian General Consulate to locate Cabrera, learning that he had already left the United States. The three children were found safe and taken into protective custody in Peru on August 16.
According to family members, Cabrera provided conflicting accounts of his wife’s whereabouts when she went missing. Gutierrez’s sister reported that he initially claimed Immigration and Customs Enforcement had taken her, later stating she had left with another man, and in a third account, claimed she had suffered an accident without providing details.
Gutierrez’s mother, Helga Rocillo, told reporters that her daughter had previously reported Cabrera for domestic violence in Peru. Rocillo indicated that the last time she spoke with her daughter, Gutierrez told her she planned to file a report against her husband in Lancaster. “She told me that Jossimar Cabrera Cornejo hit her, mistreated her, and even slapped my youngest grandchild, who is 3 years old,” Rocillo told media outlets.
Neighbors reported witnessing suspicious behavior from Cabrera in the early morning hours before the surveillance video captured him dragging the object. One neighbor told investigators she encountered Cabrera cleaning his truck at 2:30 a.m., describing his behavior as unusual and noting that his eyes looked frightening.
Cabrera was briefly detained twice after leaving the country, once in Mexico and once in Peru, but was released because he had not yet been charged with a crime. The Peruvian consulate confirmed that authorities could not detain him because there was no warrant for his arrest at the time he arrived in the country.
On August 22, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed murder charges against Cabrera. Prosecutors have issued an extradition arrest warrant, paving the way for his potential return to the United States to face the charges.
The three children have been repatriated to Los Angeles via Mexico City and are now with their maternal grandmother. Peru’s foreign ministry confirmed the children’s safe return to be reunited with their mother’s family.
Friends and community members held a vigil for Gutierrez outside Lancaster City Hall, describing her as an unconditional friend, loving mother and hard worker. Attendees held signs reading “Justice for Sheylla” and “Not one more” while calling for justice in her case.
The cause of death remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office. Homicide investigators continue working on the extradition process to bring Cabrera back to the United States to face murder charges.
According to family members, the couple had migrated from Peru to the United States in 2023 seeking a better life. Rocillo told reporters that her daughter spoke to her via video call just days before she was reported missing, expressing her intention to report her husband for domestic violence.
Cabrera remains at large in Peru while authorities work to secure his extradition. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department continues investigating the case and encourages anyone with additional information to contact their Homicide Bureau.
