Huntington Beach Woman Found Strangled in Garden Grove Motel

The body of a 24-year-old woman was found in a Garden Grove motel room, and an autopsy Thursday showed she had been strangled, police said.

Christine Helen Reinecker had been dead at least 24 hours before her body was discovered about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday by the manager of the Ranch Motel on Garden Grove Boulevard, officers said. The manager was making a routine check of the room before it was to be cleaned, Garden Grove Police Sgt. Bruce Beauchamp said.

Miss Reinecker was an unemployed Huntington Beach resident who lived with her father, Beauchamp said. Her body showed no obvious signs of trauma other than “mild” bruises, he said. Because she had been arrested on narcotics charges in the past, Beauchamp said, police initially investigated her death as a possible drug overdose.

Beauchamp said that Miss Reinecker had a baby six months ago, but he did not know where the infant or its father are living.

Police said they had no suspects in the slaying, which is still under investigation.