Trial set for man accused of killing girlfriend 30 years ago

STAFFORD, Va. (AP) — A man will face trial on charges alleging that he killed his girlfriend and dumped her body in Virginia more than 30 years ago.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Jose Angel Rodriguez-Cruz, 54, faces a June 10 trial start date.

He faces charges of first-degree murder and concealment of a dead body in Stafford County. That's where the remains of Marta Rodriguez were discovered. She had disappeared from Arlington County in 1989.

Rodriguez–Cruz was indicted in October. By then, he was already serving a 12-year prison sentence for killing another woman, Pamela Butler, at her home in Washington in 2009. He had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after agreeing to tell police where he disposed of Butler's body.

Butler's brother, Derrick Butler, encouraged Stafford authorities to pursue charges in the Rodriguez killing and is credited with being a key factor in the new charges.

Rodriguez's remains weren't identified for years because the sister of Rodriguez-Cruz's second wife had assumed her identity, authorities said. Police said they made the discovery in 2017.