A 25-year-old man pleaded not guilty to a grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday charging him with murdering his Scottish wife, whose dismembered body was found in a Hollywood apartment.
Jonathan Renteria was indicted on one count each of murder and mutilation/disinterment of human remains, along with a new count of misdemeanor child abuse, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Renteria was arrested Sept. 11 and charged four days later in connection with his wife’s killing.
Authorities allege he killed his wife, 37-year-old June Bunyan, who moved to the U.S. to work as a lawyer.
Bunyan was last seen alive Sept. 4, and the next day, Renteria was seen on his way to drop off the couple’s 1-month-old child at his parents’ house while carrying trash bags filled with unknown contents.
Renteria — who was found in a Ventura County hotel room suffering from a bloody arm injury — allegedly confessed to killing his wife during an argument in their Franklin Avenue apartment about her weight.
He was ordered to remain behind bars without bail, and is due back at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse June 2 for a pretrial hearing, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Bunyan “was known for her vibrant personality, infectious laugh, and deeply compassionate heart,” according to a GoFundMe page established to help defray the costs of bringing her body back to the United Kingdom and funeral.