Santa Cruz slaying suspect fighting extradition
UPDATE: 1/19/2018 11:12 a.m. A Santa Cruz man who was arrested after South Dakota police found his mother’s body in the vehicle he was driving is fighting extradition.
Thirty-year-old Santa Cruz man, Tosten Walsh Lommen is charged with murder in California in the death of his mother, 58-year-old Michelle Walsh. He was arrested on New Year’s Day on suspicion of drunk driving and eluding police following a chase on Interstate 90 in South Dakota.
Authorities in South Dakota this week dropped local charges against Lommen to clear the way for his return to California.
KEVN-TV reports that Lommen appeared in court Friday and declined to waive extradition. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Feb. 20.
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Authorities in South Dakota have dropped local charges against a California man who they say was arrested with his mother’s body found in the vehicle he was driving.
The Capital Journal reports the procedural move by prosecutors clears the way for 30-year-old Tosten Walsh Lommen to be returned to California to face a murder charge in that state.
Authorities allege Lommen killed his mother, 58-year-old Michelle Walsh, sometime around Dec. 30 while the two were living in her home in Palm Springs, California.
Lommen was arrested on New Year’s Day on suspicion of drunk driving and eluding police following a chase on Interstate 90 in South Dakota. Authorities say they found his mother’s body wrapped in a blanket in the back seat.
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1/8/2018 11:29 a.m. South Dakota’s attorney general said an autopsy confirms the death of a California woman found in the back seat of an SUV following an interstate chase is a homicide.
Attorney General, Marty Jackley said Monday that preliminary results show 58-year-old Michelle Walsh died from head and neck injuries. Her body was discovered after Highway Patrol troopers chased and stopped the SUV driven by her son, 30-year-old Tosten Walsh Lommen of Santa Cruz. He’s facing charges of eluding authorities and drunken driving, but has not been charged with his mother’s death.
The Highway Patrol said the New Year’s Day pursuit on Interstate 90 from Spearfish to Rapid City, about 50 miles (80 kilometers), reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour. Officers used spike strips on the roadway to disable the SUV and arrest Lommen.
UPDATED: 1/4/2018 1:49 p.m. Authorities have identified a California woman whose body was found in an SUV stopped after a high-speed chase in South Dakota as the mother of the driver.
Attorney General Marty Jackley’s office said Thursday the body of 58-year-old Michelle Walsh was found in the rear of the vehicle after a chase with her son, 30-year-old Tosten Walsh Lommen, of Santa Cruz.
Lommen faces charges including aggravated eluding and drunken driving.
Jackley says South Dakota authorities are working with California officials on the death investigation. Autopsy results are pending.
Jackley’s office says a state trooper on Monday observed Lommen driving over 100 mph on I-90 in western South Dakota.
Authorities say the vehicle he was driving eventually came to rest in a ditch after officials used spike strips, and Lommen was arrested.
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State authorities are investigating after officials allegedly found a dead woman’s body in a vehicle following a high-speed chase in South Dakota.
Attorney General Marty Jackley’s office said Tuesday Tosten David Walsh Lommen, 30, Santa Cruz, California, has been arrested on several charges.
Authorities said a Highway Patrol trooper on Monday observed the suspect driving over 100 mph on I-90 in western South Dakota. Officials said the trooper attempted to pull the driver over, but the suspect didn’t stop.
Law enforcement says the pursuit continued from Spearfish to Rapid City, about 50 miles, reaching speeds of about 118 mph, before authorities put down stop spikes to disable the vehicle.
Officials said the suspect attempted to flee on foot before getting caught. The body was allegedly found during a search of the vehicle.
