Human remains were discovered at a property in a Southcrest neighborhood, prompting a multi-agency investigation that continued Wednesday with investigators handling what appeared to be bones.
A search warrant was served Tuesday at Newton Avenue, near National Avenue and 35th Street, and human remains were found, according to San Diego Police Department Lt. Travis Easter. The investigation began after California Highway Patrol became privy to information that led investigators to believe there were remains at the property.
Investigators with the CHP, Federal Bureau of Investigation, San Diego police’s Cold Case division and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office remained on the property Wednesday. SkyRanger 7 spotted investigators with shovels digging in the backyard, collecting what appeared to be bones.
The remains will need to be identified by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office, SDPD said. The ME will also attempt to determine the cause of death.
A CHP detective said the case stemmed from a homicide investigation from 2023 that involved their department. In that homicide investigation, a suspect is in custody, the detective said.
NBC 7 Investigates has learned a man who listed the home as his address on a name-change petition in 2022 has been previously charged with murder. Dwight Rhone, 74, is accused of shooting a man along Interstate 905 and setting his vehicle and body on fire in October 2023.
On Wednesday afternoon, the DA’s office described Rhone as a “person of interest” connected to the investigation at the Southcrest property.
Rhone listed the home as his address on a name-change petition in 2022, and the landlord of the property confirmed that Rhone was later evicted from the property.
In a sentencing hearing for an unrelated federal case, prosecutors recommended that Rhone be sentenced to 37 months in prison due to his lengthy criminal history for dozens of offenses, including several as a juvenile, according to documents obtained by NBC 7.
The new occupants at Newton Avenue
The family who lives at the home, sisters Judith Santos Gonzalez and Selena Estrada Gonzalez, told NBC 7 that authorities had unexpectedly arrived at their door with a search warrant a couple of days earlier.
Authorities told the sisters that the search warrant did not involve them but, rather, the previous residents.
The sisters said they were told by authorities that new evidence in a cold case from 2020 led authorities to search their house. The search did not involve them, but rather the previous residents, the investigators told the family.
“Two people come up to our door on a Sunday evening when we’re just all relaxing, watching movies as a family. And they just come to our door to tell us that we have to leave. A search warrant was approved by a judge, and you have to leave because the search warrant was going to start Tuesday — today — morning,” Judith said.
SkyRanger 7 was above the home’s backyard on Tuesday afternoon, where a heavy law enforcement presence remained. At least five blue canopies were set up on the side of the home behind SDPD tarps, and investigators wearing protective gear were seen gathering evidence, with some entering what appears to be a side door or crawl space of the home.
The sisters described the search as being conducted through their neighbor’s entrance and under Judith’s room.
“They already told us whatever they’re looking for is underneath the house,” Judith added.
The sisters moved into the home last year. Here and there, sheriff’s deputies would show up at the house, asking if so-and-so lived at the home, Selena said .
An 18-year-old neighbor told NBC 7 she has noticed police going in and out of the neighborhood but never thought anything of it. She remembers her parents always discouraged her and her sibling from walking toward the home.
San Diego police are urging anyone with information regarding Rhone’s potential involvement in any criminal activity to call the the homicide unit at (619) 531-2293. Tips can also be called in anonymously to Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
This is a developing story. Details may change as information is released.
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