Ashley Brito, 27, of Thousand Palms, California, was found dead from a gunshot wound on March 31, 2021, in a room at the City Center Motel in Indio. Indio police called the circumstances suspicious and opened a homicide investigation after responding to a 7:45 p.m. call and discovering her body.

Investigators quickly identified 30-year-old Carla Flores of Arizona as the primary suspect. Flores was arrested in El Centro after giving a false identity during a disturbance at another motel, transferred to Indio for questioning, and booked into the John Benoit Detention Center on murder charges. Authorities allege Flores shot Brito; motive has not been disclosed. Court records show a judge found sufficient evidence at a preliminary hearing to send the case to trial on murder and firearm-enhancement charges, with bail set at $1 million and a post-preliminary arraignment scheduled for May 4, 2022.

If anyone has information about the night of March 31, 2021, please come forward.