Oliver Waterfall, 24, was found dead down a hillside off Highway 9 near mile marker 3.56 in Santa Cruz County on April 11, 2023. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office responded that evening; an autopsy later determined he died of a gunshot wound and investigators classified the case as a homicide.

Detectives conducted interviews and reviewed surveillance footage over the following two weeks. On April 26 arrests were made: 27-year-old Dennis Novoa of San Jose and 22-year-old Diana Ornelas of Santa Clara, both known to Waterfall. Authorities say the motive is believed to be personal. Ornelas, a preschool teacher at the Children’s Center of the Stanford Community, was taken into custody on the Stanford campus outside the center’s perimeter during naptime; no children were present and she was later fired.

Both Novoa and Ornelas are being held without bail on charges of first-degree murder. The exact nature of their relationships with Waterfall and the circumstances that led to the shooting have not been disclosed. Does anyone with knowledge of Waterfall’s connections in the area or who was in that stretch of Highway 9 on April 11 have information to share?