Man accused of trying to drown, bury wife alive at California beach

Updated: Feb 25, 2021 / 05:04 PM CST

A game warden patrols the shore.

CORONADO, Calif. (NEXSTAR) — A Southern California man is charged with attempted murder after his wife told police that he tried to kill and bury her on a San Diego-area beach Wednesday night.

Coronado police said the woman called 911 just before 9 p.m. to report that her husband, 23-year-old Jose Luis Mares III, attacked her after the couple went to the beach earlier that evening.

Police say the couple was talking when they got into an argument and Mares began attacking her. He allegedly tried to throw her in the ocean before attempting to bury her in a hole in the sand.

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The woman managed to escape and run from Mares and off the beach to a nearby sidewalk, where a passerby found her. Paramedics treated her at the scene and transported her to a trauma center in San Diego.

Coronado police found Mares, of Moreno Valley, hiding in the backyard of a nearby home. He is charged with attempted murder, assault causing great bodily injury, domestic violence, false imprisonment and parole violation.

Coronado is a tourist destination known for its beach resorts and is located on a peninsula in the San Diego Bay.