A man accused of shooting and killing two men in San Jose may have orchestrated moving one of the bodies while he was behind bars for another crime, according to police.
Police say in May 2021, Ricardo Padilla, 34, fatally shot Thomas Calamia off West Virginia Street and then two months later killed Samuel Torres near Coyote Creek and Wool Creek Drive, but his body was never found.
"We do believe that while he was incarcerated the suspect contacted associates outside of the jail and said, 'Hey, this is where the body is. I need you to go get rid of it.' We have not found that body. We have found evidence that there was a body at that location," San Jose police Sgt. Christian Camarillo said Monday.
Police say that location was an encampment near Wool Creek Drive where Padilla lived.
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The search for the body continues, but it may have been hampered by recent flooding along Coyote Creek.
Despite only one body, prosecutors are still charging Padilla with murder in two cases.
"This is a very, very rare charge to have a no-body homicide," Camarillo said. "The last time our county's district attorney filed that charge was with the disappearance and subsequent homicide of Sierra Lamar."
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In addition to two killings, Padilla, a known gang member, is suspected of a violent crime spree spanning several months in 2021. He's accused of a stabbing and another shooting in San Jose. In Livermore, he's accused of attempted murder after police say he backed into an officer's motorcycle during a traffic stop.
