thumpc
04-17-2008, 09:50 PM
Woman in dry ice was dead for 'quite a while'
Prosecutor says Monique Trepp was deceased for some time. Reputed boyfriend pleads not guilty on drug charges.
By JEFF OVERLEY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Comments 44| Recommend 26
NEWPORT BEACH – A woman discovered packed in dry ice last week at the Fairmont hotel in Newport Beach had been dead for nearly a year, an acquaintance said Monday.
Stephen David Royds and Monique Felicia Trepp for about two years were regulars at Tapas, a restaurant across the street from the Fairmont, said Arturo Flores, the eatery's general manager.
In April or May, Royds told restaurant staff that Trepp had died, Flores said, adding that he heard secondhand that Royds held a memorial service for his deceased girlfriend.
“They came in all the time, up until almost a year ago, (when) she died,” Flores said. The idea that she's been in a deep freeze ever since is “crazy,” Flores added.
Assistant District Attorney Dennis Conway would not confirm Flores' account, but said that “early indications indicate that it's apparently been quite a while” since Trepp died.
Royds – who police say was staying in the room where the body was found – had been living at the Fairmont for at least two years before being arrested on cocaine charges Thursday, Conway said.
His room was in disarray, strewn with drug paraphernalia and wrapped Christmas presents, Conway added. “It was apparently pretty hard to walk around in there; there was so much stuff on the floor,” he said.
Fairmont spokeswoman Michelle Heston did not return a call for comment.
Conway said maids tidied up the hotel room occasionally, but that it's not certain they were in the room with Trepp's body.
While toxicology tests are pending, Trepp is believed to have died of a drug overdose.
Royds, 46, has not been charged in the 33-year-old's death. He appeared in court Monday and pleaded not guilty to felony narcotics charges tied to his alleged possession of an ounce of cocaine.
Outfitted in a yellow jumpsuit and sporting a shock of straw-colored hair, Royds said “Yes, sir,” when asked by a judge if he understood the charges but was otherwise silent.
Royds is ineligible for bail because of a 2002 conviction on several felony drug counts in which he never turned himself in after being sentenced to six months in jail, Conway said.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/royds-conway-drug-1996099-fairmont-hotel
Prosecutor says Monique Trepp was deceased for some time. Reputed boyfriend pleads not guilty on drug charges.
By JEFF OVERLEY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Comments 44| Recommend 26
NEWPORT BEACH – A woman discovered packed in dry ice last week at the Fairmont hotel in Newport Beach had been dead for nearly a year, an acquaintance said Monday.
Stephen David Royds and Monique Felicia Trepp for about two years were regulars at Tapas, a restaurant across the street from the Fairmont, said Arturo Flores, the eatery's general manager.
In April or May, Royds told restaurant staff that Trepp had died, Flores said, adding that he heard secondhand that Royds held a memorial service for his deceased girlfriend.
“They came in all the time, up until almost a year ago, (when) she died,” Flores said. The idea that she's been in a deep freeze ever since is “crazy,” Flores added.
Assistant District Attorney Dennis Conway would not confirm Flores' account, but said that “early indications indicate that it's apparently been quite a while” since Trepp died.
Royds – who police say was staying in the room where the body was found – had been living at the Fairmont for at least two years before being arrested on cocaine charges Thursday, Conway said.
His room was in disarray, strewn with drug paraphernalia and wrapped Christmas presents, Conway added. “It was apparently pretty hard to walk around in there; there was so much stuff on the floor,” he said.
Fairmont spokeswoman Michelle Heston did not return a call for comment.
Conway said maids tidied up the hotel room occasionally, but that it's not certain they were in the room with Trepp's body.
While toxicology tests are pending, Trepp is believed to have died of a drug overdose.
Royds, 46, has not been charged in the 33-year-old's death. He appeared in court Monday and pleaded not guilty to felony narcotics charges tied to his alleged possession of an ounce of cocaine.
Outfitted in a yellow jumpsuit and sporting a shock of straw-colored hair, Royds said “Yes, sir,” when asked by a judge if he understood the charges but was otherwise silent.
Royds is ineligible for bail because of a 2002 conviction on several felony drug counts in which he never turned himself in after being sentenced to six months in jail, Conway said.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/royds-conway-drug-1996099-fairmont-hotel