Laura Perez was a 25-year-old Escondido police officer who was killed on July 23, 2014, in Murrieta, California. The incident began with a house fire at the couple’s home on Grand Oaks Court that was later determined to be arson. Firefighters found no one inside, and Perez’s husband, Freddy Perez-Rodas, reported her missing and became a focus of investigators.

During questioning Perez-Rodas admitted to killing Laura Perez and to trying to cover up the crime by setting the house on fire. He led investigators to a storage locker in Moreno Valley where her body was recovered; she had been shot three times in the chest. The couple’s 4-year-old daughter was unharmed and placed with family members.

Perez-Rodas was arrested and charged with murder, arson, and child endangerment. Laura Perez’s death was the first violent death of an Escondido police officer, on or off duty, and colleagues and the community mourned her as a dedicated officer with a bright future.

Did anyone who knew Laura or the family notice anything unusual in the months before July 2014?