Tempe man arrested for manslaughter in connection with wife’s disappearance

PHOENIX — Tempe Police on Saturday arrested 51-year-old Eugene Zamora for manslaughter after he allegedly killed his wife and dumped her body in a remote area northwest of the Valley, authorities said.

Zamora was booked into the Tempe City Jail and faces charges of manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence, abandonment and concealment of a dead body and false reporting to law enforcement, the Tempe Police Department said in a press release on Monday.

The man on Nov. 13 told police that his wife, Claudia Moreno, went missing after a child custody dispute with her former spouse.

After several months of an investigation, police said that Zamora admitted he had a verbal argument that turned physical with Moreno inside their apartment near Elliot Road and Preist Drive three days before he reported her missing.

It was discovered Zamora pushed Moreno during the altercation in the bathroom, police said, causing her to fall backward and fatally hit her head on the ledge of the bathtub.

Zamora then hid Moreno’s body in the apartment before dumping her remains on Nov. 14 approximately 100 miles from Tempe, authorities said.

Investigators were awaiting analysis and confirmation if the remains located are Moreno’s, police said.

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