Body Linked to Missing O.C. Woman Is ID’d

A woman found dead inside a stolen car after a weekend police shootout in Colorado was identified Tuesday as a 39-year-old Riverside resident who was wanted for questioning in the disappearance of her former Orange County landlady, officials said.

The woman, Deborah Sue Miller Vovos, was shot in the upper torso, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. It was undetermined whether she shot herself or was struck by police fire during the gun battle Sunday in Lochbuie, about 30 miles northeast of Denver, Amormino said.

She and her husband, Nicholas James Vovos, 22, were wanted for questioning in the disappearance of Carolyn Dunn Avdeef, 62, who has been missing from her Lake Forest home since June 15. Avdeef rented a room in her home to Deborah Vovos’ mother, and previously had rented a room to the couple as well.

Police said the couple withdrew more than $10,000 from Avdeef’s bank accounts before they fled to Colorado.

“We don’t know for sure if she’s dead or alive, but as time goes on, we know she’s a victim of foul play,” Amormino said of the search for Avdeef. “We believe someone out there knows what happened to our missing person. They may have been reluctant out of fear from the Vovoses, but one is dead and the other will be in jail for a long, long time.”

Nicholas Vovos was being held at the Weld County Detention Center in Greeley, Colo. Multiple counts of attempted murder of a police officer, which is punishable by up to 40 years in prison, are expected to be filed against him this week, prosecutors said Tuesday. He will also face additional charges in Orange County.

The couple first eluded police Saturday near Cheyenne, Wyo., and were seen Sunday in Morgan County, Colo., where they led police on a 40-mile pursuit at speeds of up to 120 mph.

Deputies used spike strips to puncture the vehicle’s tires, forcing Nicholas Vovos to drive to a gas station in Lochbuie where a gun battle ensued, police said. He was eventually arrested and was uninjured.

Nicholas Vovos was sentenced in 2001 to two years in prison for possession of stolen property, according to court records.

Last year, he was ordered to spend 30 days in the San Bernardino County Jail for possession of burglary tools.

Deborah Vovos was sentenced in 2001 to six months in the San Bernardino County Jail in connection with a fraud case. In 1999, records show, she received probation for running an illegal kennel and for cruelty to animals.