Officials say Glendale teacher was stabbed, beaten to death
Nov 8, 2017, 11:35 AM | Updated: 1:04 pm
PHOENIX — A Glendale teacher whose body was found in northern Arizona last month was stabbed and beaten to death, officials said Wednesday.
The Yavapai County Medical Examiner’s Office said Cathryn Gorospe was killed by a combination of stab wounds and blunt force injuries to the chest.
Gorospe went missing in Flagstaff after bailing out 27-year-old Charlie Malzahn in early October. A bail bondsman said he warned Gorospe against bailing Malzahn out.
Her body was found more than two weeks later near Mayer, nearly 90 miles away from where she was last seen.
Gorospe’s family visited the site where the body was found and saw the remains “on a mountain of dirt behind some old mining equipment in a little wash,” the victim’s brother said.
Police said Malzahn was considered a suspect in her disappearance. He has not been charged in connection to the case but was being held after allegedly fleeing from Phoenix police officers.
One of Malzahn’s acquaintances said he was driving a vehicle that matched the description of Gorospe’s car, which had blood on the inside and parts of the rear bumper and front quarter panel were missing or damaged.
Malzahn was located in Phoenix in Gorospe’s vehicle. He attempted to flee from officers but crashed the car and allegedly assaulted two police officers in an attempt to escape the police station once he was caught.
According to court paperwork, Malzahn was being fingerprinted by Phoenix Police Department officers when he allegedly attacked them. Police said Malzhan placed his handcuffs around one officer’s head and neck. One officer suffered a nine-inch cut to the back of the head.
Prior to being spotted by officers in Phoenix, Malzahn used Gorospe’s credit cards in Tucson. He also contacted acquaintances in Clifton, Arizona in an attempt to get drugs, police said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
