Santa Barbara police have charged two residents with felony conspiracy after a wellness check uncovered a corpse wrapped in plastic inside a metal container.
Jenica Monique Ochoa, 45, and Kenneth Eugene Tompkins, 43, both lived in the apartment building where 39-year-old Lawrence Brennen’s body was found, according to custody records. Officers first arrived at the residence on Los Aguajes Avenue on Oct. 27 around 9:37 p.m. After receiving a welfare check request. They contacted a resident but departed after encountering what they deemed suspicious circumstances.
The next morning, police returned with a search warrant and discovered Brennen’s body concealed in a bedroll, placed in a metal container, and wrapped in plastic, charging documents state. Ochoa and Tompkins were subsequently arrested and booked on felony conspiracy and misdemeanor concealment of a death.
Both suspects face second strike enhancements tied to earlier first-degree burglary convictions, court records show. Tompkins was convicted in 2014 in Tulare County, while Ochoa’s prior conviction came in 2008 in Santa Barbara County. Neither has been charged with causing Brennen’s death, and both have pleaded not guilty to the current allegations while denying the enhancements.
Prosecutors allege the pair conspired to conceal Brennen’s death between Oct. 23 and Oct. 27. The exact manner of his death remains unclear, as does his relationship to Ochoa and Tompkins.
The case began with what seemed like a routine wellness check in the 100 block of Los Aguajes Avenue, an area within the affluent California coastal city known for its beaches and celebrity residents. Officers’ suspicions during that initial visit prompted them to seek judicial authorization for a deeper search, leading to the grim discovery the following day.
The concealment method described in charging documents—bedroll, metal container, and plastic wrapping—has drawn attention for its elaborate nature. Authorities have not indicated whether the wrapping involved Saran wrap specifically or another form of plastic material.
Ochoa and Tompkins remain in custody as the case proceeds through Santa Barbara County Superior Court. The suspects are set to return to court for a preliminary hearing to be scheduled.