Southern California man found dead behind home, roommate charged

A missing Southern California man who vanished without a trace was found buried in a shallow grave behind his own home, and his roommate has now been arrested on a murder charge.

The grim discovery came nearly a month after Daniel Howard Joslin, 61, was reported missing from Yucca Valley.

Family and friends had not seen or heard from him since June 26, prompting deputies to launch a missing-person investigation on July 3 after receiving a report at about 7:31 p.m.

Early in the investigation, detectives received information that Joslin may have planned to travel to Oregon. However, that lead went nowhere after investigators found no evidence he ever made the trip.

Instead, the case led detectives back to the home Joslin shared with Cris Jones, 60, in the 58000 block of Carlyle Drive.

Armed with a search warrant on July 29, investigators searched the property and uncovered human remains buried in a shallow grave in the backyard.

The San Bernardino County Coroner later confirmed the remains belonged to Joslin.

Detectives identified Jones as the suspect and secured a warrant for his arrest.

With help from the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon, authorities located Jones — who, according to his Facebook profile, attended Portland State University — and took him into custody on Aug. 2.

He is being held on a murder charge while awaiting extradition to California.

Investigators have not disclosed a possible motive, and the homicide investigation remains ongoing.

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