Arrest made after bodies of 2 women found in vehicle

OTHELLO, Wash. – A 28-year-old man arrested in connection with the discovery of two dismembered bodies in a car in the central Washington town of Othello has confessed to the killings, according to authorities.

Adams County sheriff’s deputies arrested Mauricio Nava-Garibay on Thursday, hours after finding the female bodies, KXLY-TV of Spokane reported.

The man waived his rights and agreed to an interview, according to court documents.

He told authorities he got in a fight with his girlfriend, Dora Martinez, on Wednesday evening and stabbed her and strangled her with an extension court in the garage of a home.

A second woman, Guadalupe Martinez, entered the garage and Nava-Garibay told officers he also killed her.

He told authorities he dismembered their bodies because they were too heavy to lift. He then drove to a location where he left the car with the bodies inside.

Nava-Garibay was booked into the Adams County Jail on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of removal or concealment of a body. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.

Othello is about 180 miles (290 kilometres) southeast of Seattle.