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Ventura County man accused of torture, murder in death of girlfriend

Ventura County Sheriff's Office
Thousand Oaks man accused of torture, murder of girlfriend.

Detectives think killing in Conejo Valley was a domestic violence incident.

A Ventura County man is facing murder, mayhem, and torture charges after his girlfriend was found dead on Christmas Eve in her Thousand Oaks apartment.

Deputies were called to the apartment on the 600 block of McCloud Avenue just after 1 a.m. Friday by reports of an unresponsive woman. They say she was unconscious, and seriously injured.

Efforts to revive her were unsuccessful. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives say they found evidence she had been tortured.

Her live-in boyfriend was at the scene. After questioning, Saul Nava was arrested. Investigators got a search warrant, and say they seized evidence related to the case.

The 21-year-old man is being held in lieu of $2 million bail.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.