By Allison Jarrell | Special to the NB Indy
On Thursday, April 25, the Newport Beach Police Department arrested Jamon Rayon Buggs, 44, of Huntington Beach for the murder of Darren Donald Partch, a 38 year old resident of Newport Beach, and Wendi Sue Miller, a 48 year old resident of Costa Mesa.
The victims were found deceased inside a residence in the 2100 Block of East 15th Street in Newport Beach on the evening of April 21.
At the time of his arrest, Buggs was in custody at the Orange County Jail in connection with unrelated charges stemming from an arrest by the Irvine Police Department. Buggs is currently being held on a $1,000,000 bail pending double murder charges.
NBPD received a call on April 21 at 9:27 p.m. requesting officers respond to the 2100 Block of East 15th Street in Newport Beach for two people found deceased. NBPD responded to the residence, which belonged to Partch, and subsequently found one adult male and one adult female deceased.
“At this time, NBPD Detectives and Crime Scene Investigation personnel are conducting an active homicide investigation. The activity appears to be confined to this location and investigators have no reason to believe there is an ongoing threat to public safety,” said NBPD spokesperson Heather Rangel.
On Monday, April 22, friends and family of Wendi Miller posted on Facebook that she was missing and was last seen at Skyloft and the Sandpiper Lounge in Laguna on Friday night, April 19. Friends and family wrote that she was driving a white convertible Lexus and after dropping a friend off at her car, she reportedly drove a man home that they had met.
After police ID’d Miller and Partch as the Newport Beach homicide victims, a family member of Miller wrote that she had been shot and they were told that “she did not suffer.”
Miller was the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Wings for Justice, whose mission is to protect children in the family court system by creating awareness, providing education, and advocating to bring positive change. A GoFundMe page was created to raise funds for her celebration of life, raising over $12,000 as of April 25.
GoFundMe organizers wrote: “Wendi always had a smile on her face, she could brighten up a room with her presence. The love and passion for her two children, Luke Carpenter and Cambria Carpenter, was amazing to watch. Wendi cherished and loved all her family and friends with so much passion…She believed in her mission to help others, that went through similar life experiences with an unfair family court system and no matter how tough life got for her, she always stayed positive, had a strong faith and never gave up! You will be so missed Wendi, but never forgotten.”
Anyone with information or a witness to the crime is asked to contact Detective Rick Henry at 949-644-3797.
To contribute to Miller’s memorial fund, visit www.gofundme.com/wendi-millercelebration-of-lifememorial-fund.
