Temecula Man Pleads Not Guilty to Torturing, Killing Girlfriend

A Temecula man accused using a stick and whip to torture his girlfriend, resulting in her death, has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Edgar Silva also denied the sentence-enhancing allegations of committing a serious felony with a deadly weapon and torture when he was arraigned Sept. 3 at Southwest Justice Center near Murrieta, court records show.

Silva, 26, is accused in the death of 20-year-old Shirley Chanel Corrales.

Her body was discovered Aug. 16 when police responded to a home in the 44000 block of Calle Hilario in the Vail Ranch area of Temecula to investigate a call about “an unresponsive woman.”

What they allegedly found was a “badly beaten” woman, according to Riverside County District Attorney’s Office Spokesman John Hall.

Efforts by the reporting party and responding emergency personnel to revive her were futile, police said.

Silva, who lived with Corrales at the residence, was apprehended the next morning when he was found hiding in the backyard of a nearby home, according to Temecula police.

A parolee with warrant out for his arrest, Silva was arrested as a person of interest in the homicide investigation, and later charged on suspicion of Corrales’ murder.

Silva—being held on no bail at Southwest Detention Center near Murrieta—is due in court again Oct. 9 for a felony settlement conference, a court proceeding during which attorneys typically exchange information attempt to resolve the case.

Representing the DA’s office in the case is Deputy District Attorney David Tahan.

The Deputy Public Defender assigned to the case is Colleen Lawler.

Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach is expected to decide at a later date whether to pursue the death penalty against Silva, Patch previously reported.

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