By Joe Johnson
The body of a murdered woman was found in a burned out out car in Oglethorpe County.
Authorities on Monday said that 28-year-old Rubi Nava was killed at her home in Gwinnett County by her boyfriend who disposed of the body in Atmoldsville by setting the woman and her car on fire.
An investigation began on Thursday, when Gwinnett County police said they were asked to conduct a welfare check on Nava at her home in Lawrenceville, and when they did not find her, they began to investigate her disappearance.
Police said they later received information that Nava may have been harmed or killed by her ex-boyfriend, 29-year-old Jahir Alejandro Conteras Sagahon.
Officers subsequently located Sagahon returning to his residence, and he was taken to police headquarters for questioning. Police noted that Sagahon had severe burns on his face and hands.
“Sagahon admitted to being at Nava’s residence earlier where they got into an argument and where their child was present,” according to a Gwinnett County Police Department news release. “The argument became physical, and Sagahon choked Nava until she stopped breathing. He then loaded Nava’s deceased body into her vehicle and drove to Oglethorpe County where he set the vehicle on fire.”
When searching an area that authorities identified through the suspect's cellphone pings on local towers, Sheriff David Gabriel and his captain found Nava's burned up Toyota RAV-4 about 200 yards off the road in the 400 block of Black Snake Road in Arnoldsville, with charred "human bone remains" in its cargo area, according to an OCSO incident report.
There report states that a witness saw a male with a back pack walking on a trail in that area, carrying several bags.
The human remains were turned over to the Medical Examiner’s office for proper identification.
Sagahon has been charged with felony murder, cruelty to children in the third degree and aggravated assault.
Gabriel said that neither the victim nor offender had ties to the Oglethorpe area.
"(Sagahon) said he just drove straight out of Gwinnett" until he found a place to dispose of the body, the sheriff said.
The Oglethope County incident report indicated that local warrants charging Sagahon with arson and concealing the death of another would be sought
He was booked into the Gwinnett County Detention Center.