There is little update in the ongoing murder trial of Tatum Goodwin, but the process is moving forward – slowly.
After a not guilty plea in November, Dino Rojas-Moreno is still sitting in jail without bail after allegedly killing Goodwin, a 27-year-old San Clemente resident and Laguna Beach restaurant worker.
Since the arrest, there have been a handful of pretrial hearings. The next one is scheduled for June 7, in Orange County Superior Court, 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, Room C55 at 8:30 a.m. The case number is 23CF3195.
Rojas-Moreno’s original criminal defense attorney, Chris Bou Saeed, is no longer on the case. Rojas-Moreno now has OC public defender Mick Hill.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Moore of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting the case.
Rojas-Moreno, then 26, of Laguna Hills was arrested on Nov. 15, just three days after Goodwin was found by a construction worker behind the old theater (now Rivian).
Rojas-Moreno had bounced around as a local bartender and at the time of the murder worked at the Royal Hawaiian, according to co-workers.
The DA’s office said Rojas-Moreno is accused of approaching Goodwin in a parking lot off Ocean Ave. around 1 a.m., assaulting her near her parked car, then brutally killing her.
“Rojas-Moreno then forcefully dragged her to the rear of the parking lot, down a short alley, and to a secluded area behind a movie theatre that was under construction,” the DA said. “Rojas-Moreno is then accused of beating Goodwin to death with a fire extinguisher.”
Goodwin’s body was found on Sunday, Nov. 12, at about 8:20 a.m.
Rojas-Moreno can face the death penalty if convicted because of the special circumstances in the case.
To help the family, you can donate using a GoFundMe page set up by the owner of Carmelita’s where she worked, https://gofund.me/a0ce0c27.
