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Pair arrested after missing person found dismembered in lake at California golf course

Donald Anderson and Kimberly Machleit are shown in photos released by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office on Sept. 22, 2020.

(KTLA) — A man and a woman have been arrested after a person missing since 2018 was found dismembered in a lake at a San Luis Obispo County golf course, officials said Tuesday.

The remains were discovered Monday by a Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office dive team at a Nipomo golf course, officials said in a news release.


Authorities said the victim was missing since 2018, when the homicide likely occurred, but they did not release the person’s identity. It is unclear how the person died.

Santa Maria residents Kimberly Machleit, 35 and Donald Anderson, 37, were arrested early Tuesday.

Machleit was booked on suspicion of murder with special circumstances and conspiracy, and is being held on $2 million bail, officials said.

Anderson was booked on suspicion of accessary to murder and is being held on $1 million bail.

Though the investigation is ongoing, officials believe the victim was killed in Santa Maria in December 2018, dismembered and eventually disposed of at the golf course.

“The suspects and the victim knew each other, and this was not a random act,” officials said without elaborating.