Milpitas Woman's Body Found Buried In Backyard Of Nearby Home

MILPITAS, CA – The body of a missing Milpitas woman was found buried in the backyard of a man's home who lived nearby, police said.

Police were called to the home of a 59-year-old Milpitas woman Monday for a welfare check when an acquaintance reported not hearing from her for several days, Milpitas police said.

Officers searched the woman's home, but didn't find anything suspicious. They launched a missing person's investigation and met with family members at the home. Neighbors told officers they heard a woman screaming early Saturday, but didn't notify police at the time.

On Tuesday, police uncovered evidence near the woman's home that led them to believe she was involved in a violent crime. Investigators later detained and questioned Micah James Dovlet, who lived nearby, and searched his home. The home is located on the 1500 block North Milpitas Boulevard, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Investigators didn't find the missing woman, but collected evidence that led indicated someone had been killed, police said.

Dovlet was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for homicide, police said.

On Wednesday, investigators learned more information about the woman's whereabouts, and on Thursday, they returned to Dovlet's home, locating and exhuming the woman's body from the backyard.

Dovlet was charged with murder, The Mercury News reported.

The woman was “particularly vulnerable” and the way she was slain indicated "planning, sophistication or professionalism," prosecutors said in a criminal complaint.