Man takes his kids on a road trip with their mother’s body stuffed in box

A Nevada father drove his children to visit relatives with their mother’s battered body stuffed in a cardboard box that he stashed in the back of his SUV, police said. Jose Anthony Rodriguez, 37, is behind bars in Dinuba, Calif., after authorities discovered the decomposing remains of his girlfriend inside a box that was sealed with duct tape, according to police. Dinuba police said Rodriquez had stabbed his brother and punched his mother in the face to stop them from looking inside the container.
His mom told KGPE-TV that her son liked “having control over people” and apologized to the victim’s family.
“She didn’t deserve this," she said. "I want him to get the chair."
The woman was killed sometime last week in Reno, where she lived with Rodriguez and four children, two of whom were hers, police said. Her remains had been in the box since then. Her head had been bashed in and her kneecaps were broken, according to authorities. No motive was given for the slaying. Rodriguez is being held in lieu of $1 million bail pending his return to Reno, where authorities discovered signs that a crime had been committed inside the couple’s home, Dinuba police said.