STOCKTON, Calif. — A man is in custody four months after a woman was found dead on the side of the road near Tracy.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said she was found on the side of the road near Chrisman and Durham Ferry roads in Tracy in the early morning hours of Jan. 5.
The woman’s mother identified her the following week as Den’Nicia Rowe.
Now, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office confirmed to ABC10 that David Sergio Duarte is facing charges of murder in connection with her death. He was booked Tuesday just before noon.
Rowe’s mother, Latonia Watkins, previously told ABC10 her daughter suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Watkins said Rowe didn’t accept her diagnosis, wouldn’t take her medication and spent time at mental hospitals.
Rowe was released but her mother wasn’t notified because of her age. Watkins believes her daughter was taken advantage of and killed.
“I was on the phone with my child when I believe she was murdered," said Watkins. "The last words I heard my child speak, I will never forget. That rings in my head every day, every night.”
The mental hospital she was released from declined to comment citing HIPAA laws.
