NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Put in a suitcase and thrown out in a dumpster. That is what Catalina Estrada told police she did to Michelle Garner's body.
According to investigators, the confession was made by Estrada after they found her at a Super 8 Motel in Hampton on Tuesday. Estrada was arrested and charged with concealing a dead body in relation to Garner's disappearance.
In Estrada's statement, she claims she and Garner were together at the Key West Inn on August 15.
Estrada said the two were there to do heroin, which the women recently purchased.
Estrada explains that she fell asleep after doing the drugs, when she woke up she says Garner was dead. Instead of calling police, Estrada told investigators she called her drug dealer named "Pops". She says "Pops" told her to get rid of Garner's Body.
According to the court paperwork, Estrada put Garner in a suitcase and then dumped her body in a dumpster behind the Key West Inn.
Investigators say someone even helped Estrada put the suitcase into the garbage, but had no idea that a body was in the suitcase.
In the report, investigators say they interviewed the person who helped Estrada. The person told them they even commented on the weight of the suitcase, asking Estrada if there was a body in it.
Paperwork reveals that Estrada told the person there were old books in the suitcase.
Garner's family tells News 3 they don't believe Estrada's side of the story and believe she may be covering up for other events. Police have still not located Garner's body and say they are still treating her disappearance as a missing person case. The investigation is ongoing.
