Rock hunter finds body buried in shallow grave, California cops say. 3 charged
Three people have been arrested and charged after a rock hunter found a 41-year-old man’s body buried in a shallow grave, California deputies say.
Christina C. Love, 39; Benjamin J. Kiser, 27; and Durrell J. Chambers, 37, were arrested in the connection with the death of Emmanuel Pochylski, the Modoc County Sheriff’s Office said in a June 30 news release shared to Facebook
Deputies said they were alerted to a possible homicide at a Davis Creek home on June 24, deputies said.
“Concerned citizens” contacted deputies about suspicious activity at the home and expressed concern “that Pochylski had not been seen for several days,” Modoc County District Attorney Nina Salarno said in a news release shared to Facebook.
Deputies said they began looking for Pochylski and determined he was last seen the afternoon of June 11.
After getting a search warrant, deputies said they searched a Davis Creek home and found evidence that showed Pochylski had died.
Then, on Friday, June 27, a rock hunter called deputies to report finding a shallow grave with human remains “near the Plum Valley Campground,” the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies said they collected the remains, which were positively identified as Pochylski.
An investigation led to the arrests of Love, Kiser and Chambers, Salarno said.
They each face a slew of charges, including “willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder with special allegations of murder for financial gain, murder with exceptional depravity, and felony murder during the commission of mayhem,” Salarno said.
“Chambers and Kiser are currently being held on $1,065,000 bail, and Love is being held on $1,040,000 bail,” deputies said.
They are scheduled to appear in court for arraignment Monday, July 14, Salarno said, adding that her office is considering whether or not to pursue the death penalty in the case.
An investigation is ongoing, deputies said, adding that additional charges may be forthcoming.
Davis Creek is near the Oregon border, about a 320-mile drive northeast from Sacramento.
This story was originally published July 1, 2025 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Rock hunter finds body buried in shallow grave, California cops say. 3 charged."
