Man Charged With Killing Nurse In Orange County

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — A 35-year-old man was charged Tuesday with killing a woman he was dating in Huntington Beach.

Christopher Mendez of Diamond Bar, was arrested at the Mexico border more than a week after police found the body of 35-year-old Nicole Marquisee at a home in the 1100 block of England Street.

Mendez was charged with murder and was scheduled to be arraigned in the West Justice Center in Westminster Tuesday afternoon.

"Thanks to the assistance of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security, and the U.S. Consulate General Tijuana, Mendez was apprehended while attempting to re-enter the United States from Mexico," the Huntington Beach Police Department announced in a written release. "Initially a person of interest, Mendez has now been arrested for the homicide of 35-year-old NicoleMarquisee of Walnut."

Mendez was arrested about 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Mexico border as he attempted to re-enter the United States, said Jessica Cuchilla, a spokeswoman for the Huntington Beach Police Department.

Marquisee, of Walnut, was killed on May 31, Cuchilla said. Police were dispatched about 2:30 p.m. that day to a residence on the 1100 block of England Street for a suspicious death. They said the slaying appeared isolated but did not release any additional details about the alleged murder.

Marquisee's loved ones thanked police for arresting Marquisee's alleged killer.

Marquisee, who went by Coco, was a nurse and a devoted sister and aunt, according to her family.

"Coco dedicated her life to helping people. She was a dedicated RN who stepped away from aesthetic nursing to go back to the bedside as a frontline travel nurse when COVID hit," her sister Erilen Marquisee wrote in a fundraiser to pay for funeral expenses. "Coco was always the life of the party and made everyone feel loved wherever she went. She always made time for the ones she cared about. She loved being an Auntie to all her nieces and nephews and stepped up to support our nephews after our baby brother tragically passed in 2020 and his wife in 2021. She was a loving daughter, sister, auntie, friend, cousin and so much more. Everyone who knew her LOVED her."

City News Service contributed to this report.