Woman’s Body Discovered in Sleeping Bag; Boyfriend Held

A woman was found strangled in a sleeping bag Wednesday, and her boyfriend was arrested after leading their apartment manager to the body, police said.

Jainn-Ren, 30, “met the manager at the bottom of a staircase in the morning and said, ‘I think I made a mistake. I think I killed my girlfriend,’ ” Detective Sgt. Danny Becerra said.

The manager, whose name was not released, went to the upstairs apartment the couple had shared for almost two years and discovered the body of 30-year-old Hsiuwen (Karen) Le, 30, in a zipped sleeping bag in a bedroom.

Neighbors in the four-unit apartment building in the 1600 block of Picadilly Avenue told police that they heard the couple arguing about 9 p.m. Tuesday. Police said they believe that’s when she was strangled, Becerra said.

“Neighbors said there had been fights between them in the past,” Becerra said. “Apparently, they were going through some type of a separation.”

Police said Jainn-Ren, who reportedly owns a doughnut shop and self-service laundry in Compton, waited in the garage of the apartment complex while the manager called police.

Jainn-Ren was being held without bail at Fullerton City Jail on suspicion of murder. He was to be transferred to Orange County Jail.

The same apartment was the site of another slaying. In 1990, 3-year-old Marceline Onick was stabbed by her baby-sitter, Michael Pacewitz, who is now serving a life sentence in state prison.

“It’s just a coincidence that they would happen in the same apartment,” Becerra said.