Friend charged with first-degree murder in killing of Arizona couple

[Breaking news update, posted at 3:30 p.m. ET Thursday]

A friend of an Arizona couple who went missing more than a week ago now faces two counts of first-degree murder.

Jose Valenzuela, 38, is accused of shooting Mike and Tina Careccia, then burying them in a six-foot grave beside the home where he lived in Maricopa, Arizona, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said.

The shooting stemmed from a disagreement after a Father’s Day party where the friends had been celebrating together, Babeu said.

“Sometime later that evening, they went over to Valenzuela’s home, and something happened, a fight ensued, and that’s when he brandished a weapon,” Babeu said.

[Previous story, posted at 11:34 a.m. ET Thursday]

Bodies thought to be of Mike and Tina Careccia, an Arizona couple missing since June 22, have been found and a man has been arrested in the case, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said Thursday morning.

Authorities used a backhoe to dig near the home of the couple, CNN affiliate KNXV-TV in Phoenix reported. The sheriff’s office had served a search warrant in Maricopa, near the Careccias’ house.

“Our search of the property on West Papago Road has led to the recovery of two bodies, a man and women that we believe to be Mike and Tina Careccia,” Babeu said in a statement. “As well, we have one male … in custody who lives at the property being searched.

“Family members of the Careccias have just been notified of the recovery and arrest. Our investigators and staff continue to carefully gather evidence that we believe will prove critical to our investigation and result in a stronger criminal case.”

Police said Jose Valenzuela, 38, of Maricopa, was arrested Wednesday as is being held on suspicion of murder.

Tina Careccia was on her way to work with her husband last month when they went missing, relatives say.

Their dark gray 2008 Honda Accord was found abandoned, but there was no sign of them.

“This is not just a search, but it is also criminal investigation into the couple’s disappearance,” Babeu said earlier this week.

Mike Careccia’s son first reported the pair missing in a 911 call on June 22, telling a dispatcher his father, 44, and stepmother, 42, hadn’t been seen all day after leaving home to head to work.

“I’m worried about him and … their phones are off,” he says in a recording released by authorities. “They’ve been gone for 12 hours now.”

The sheriff’s office said it “searched with air, ground and K9 resources” soon after the report was filed but found no signs of the couple in the desert.

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