Shivangi Sinha
In May 2018, when Nancy Woodrum was reported missing from her home, the entire community was thrown into a frenzy. The 62-year-old hair salon owner from Paso Robles, California, was widely loved in the area, and in the months that followed her disappearance, investigators struggled to find any solid leads. It was only later, when police discovered that Carlo Alberto Fuentes Flores had been near her ranch around the time she was believed to have been attacked, that the case began to come together. ABC’s ‘20/20: The Vanishing of Nancy Woodrum’ explores the connection between the two and the events that ultimately led to his arrest in greater detail.
Carlo Alberto Fuentes Flores’ Phone Tracking Led to His Arrest
Carlo Alberto Fuentes Flores was working as a local painter in Paso Robles, California, around 2018. Little is known about his background, but prior to May 2018, he had been part of a team working on a property called Paradise Ranch. It was owned by Nancy Woodrum, a 62-year-old widow who owned and cared for the ranch. Nancy was last seen alive on the property on May 4, 2018, and the following day, May 5, her daughter reported her missing. The investigation stalled for months, but when police employed geofencing technology, they discovered that the only suspicious person at the ranch on the night of May 4 was Carlo.
Police discreetly collected Carlo’s DNA from a Coke bottle he had discarded outside a restaurant. When they compared it to the DNA found in Nancy’s bedroom, it matched. He was immediately arrested and brought in for questioning. On December 18, 2018, Carlo led investigators to the Carrizo Plain, a rural area about an hour outside Paso Robles, where Nancy’s remains were recovered. According to the police, in a subsequent interview, Carlo allegedly admitted to assaulting Nancy while in a drunken state and stated that he had suffocated her following the attack.
Carlo Alberto Fuentes Flores is Behind Bars in a California Prison Today
Carlo Alberto Fuentes Flores was charged with first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty and also waived his right to a jury trial. His defense argued that his confession was invalid because a Spanish translator had not been present during questioning, and they claimed the DNA evidence could have been in the house due to his prior work there. In January 2022, Carlo was found guilty of murder committed during rape and burglary. In February 2022, he was sentenced to life without parole under special circumstances. He is now 52 years old and is being held at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, California, where he will spend the rest of his life.
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