Trial date confirmed for trio accused of murder in Cathedral City

INDIO, CA — An Oct. 15 trial date was confirmed Wednesday for a woman, her parolee father and a third defendant accused of murdering a 29-year-old man in a Cathedral City park four years ago.

Rena Lizette Alaniz, 24, of Thousand Palms, Carlos Antonio Ruiz, 44, of La Quinta and Andres Moreno, 22, of Cathedral City are charged with first-degree murder and a special circumstance of lying in wait.

During a pretrial hearing Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Kristi Hester conferred with the prosecution and defense, and both sides agreed to be prepared to continue the trial in the third week of October.

Ruiz and Alaniz are being held at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside – Ruiz without bail and Alaniz on $1 million bail. Moreno is being held on $1 million bail at the Benoit Detention Center in Indio.

The trio was arrested in 2020 in connection with the death of Ruben Argentis Mujica of Palm Desert.

According to Cathedral City Police, officers were dispatched to Century Park on Da Vall Drive at approximately 9:20 p.m. on August 6, 2020, to investigate a fight and found Mujica with life-threatening injuries. He was taken to a hospital in the Coachella Valley, where he later died.

“Through a very detailed and thorough investigation, Cathedral City Detectives were able to link the victim to the suspects through various pieces of evidence and statements,” police said in a statement.

Alaniz was arrested on August 28 after a three-week investigation by the Cathedral City Criminal Investigation Department. Her father and Moreno were taken into custody the following day.

According to court records, Ruiz was on probation at the time of his arrest. He has already been convicted of manslaughter and burglary.

His two co-defendants have no previous criminal convictions in Riverside County.

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