Police obtained a search warrant to look for drugs in a Fairmont hotel room in Newport Beach, where Stephen David Royds was staying and made a gruesome discovery... the body of Monique Trepp, packed in dry ice in a large Rubbermaid container in Room 966.
According to Dennis Conway, an assistant district attorney, toxicology reports are pending on Monique Trepp but that it appeared she had died of an overdose.
The police had also found drug paraphernalia and cocaine in the room, which they charged Royds with possessing.
Police and prosecutors have not disclosed certain details about the case, including how long Trepp's body had been kept in the room, although statements show the prosecutors did say she had been there "quite a while".
Royds had been living in the room at the Fairmont Newport Beach hotel for approximately two years.
The Orange County Register was able to obtain an brief interview with Stephen David Royds, where he told them Trepp's death was related to religion, adding, "Everything that happened was for religious reasons", a statement he did not expand on but did repeat a total of four times in the interview.
Trepp had a police record dating back to 2005, including several felonies in Colorado, including possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. After she made bail, she disappeared.
Royds has a prior drug conviction in Orange County in 2002, but did not appear for sentencing. Even if he were to post the $1 million bail on the new charges, he would be held with no bail on the older case, Conway said.
It is not clear if the maids that cleaned the room did so while the body was there but the prosecutor said if they had they might not have seen the body because it was in a large plastic container under the deep freeze.
Susan Kang Schroeder, spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney says that it is a misdemeanor to fail to report a death immediately if you're responsible for the body, but that Royds will probably not face charges on that count and when asked why, she responded, "I don't really want to go into why not."
Authorities believe that due to Royds past criminal record, he may have been scared to report the death so he kept her on ice, literally.
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