Bruce Cleland Murder: Where Are Rebecca Cleland, Alvaro Quezada, and Jose Quezada Now? |All Social Updates

When Bruce Cleland first saw Rebecca Salcedo, he was immediately struck by her beauty and charm. However, their stormy relationship came to an abrupt end not too long after when he was brutally killed in what appeared to be an attempted carjacking incident. However, investigations conducted by the police concluded that the evidence pointed to a more personal motivation for the crime. The episode of Scorned: Fatal Fury: Murder Stripped Down on Investigation Discovery focuses on the cold-blooded plan to have Bruce assassinated for financial gain. If you’re interested in finding out what happened, rest assured we’ve got you covered.

Bruce Cleland murder

How did Bruce Cleland die?

Bruce Cleland was a reserved and shy person who had a strong bond with his parents. After completing his undergraduate studies at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, Bruce continued his education at Stanford University in the same state. At the time of the event, he was working as a software designer for a company and was earning a significant amount of money in that capacity. Rebecca Salcedo, then 43, was selling spices when they first met at a swap meet in December 1995. They ended up tying the knot in a civil ceremony, but followed that up with a church wedding in January 1997.

The couple went to a restaurant for dinner on July 25, 1997 and then to Rebecca’s uncle for drinks. They left there around one in the morning, with Rebecca at the wheel. After some time, a taxi driver was driving through a remote area when he saw her on the ground and Bruce lying in a pool of blood in the driveway of a house across the street. When police arrived he had been shot four times in the head and once in the back, but the car was still moving. He had also been shot in the back.

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How did Bruce Cleland die?

Rebecca Salcedo stated that on the drive home, a light on her dashboard indicated that the tailgate was not closed. This information was made available to the authorities. So she stopped and got out of the car to close the door. On the other hand, Rebecca stated that she was hit in the head by an unknown person, knocking her unconscious before waking up to find Bruce dead. It appeared he was first shot in the face while he was still in the car. After that, the killer shot him in the back while trying to escape and then twice more in the head.

Although authorities were investigating the possibility of a theft car, the fact that the couple’s belongings were still in the vehicle gave the impression that the assailant was waiting for their arrival before committing Bruce’s murder. There was also cause for concern about the path Rebecca has taken. It was about a four-mile detour from her normal route to her home in Whittier, California. Additionally, it was later revealed by authorities that Rebecca’s disposition was a cause for concern. They stated that she appeared “relaxed, lazy, and indifferent.”

Rebecca said she was hit in the head, but paramedics who examined her found no signs of injury, despite claiming to the contrary. The authorities then investigated the couple’s private life. In the early stages of their relationship, Bruce showed his affection for Rebecca by giving her a series of expensive gifts. Authorities found out at the time that she had told her acquaintances that she intended to marry Bruce for his money, have a child with him and then claim child support from him. Rebecca had even used his credit card to pay for her cosmetic surgery without his knowledge.

After the couple tied the knot in a simple ceremony in October 1996, Bruce bought a home in the Whittier neighborhood. On the other hand, Rebecca was the one who resided there while Bruce stayed with his parents until their marriage in January 1997. During this time, she had sexual encounters with other men, and she required Bruce to give her a phone call before she would allow him to visit. Authorities also found that Rebecca once asked her sister if she knew anyone who could kill Bruce and make it look like he died in an accident.

After a few months of marriage, Bruce moved back in with his parents and Rebecca moved in with her cousin Alvaro Quezada in Whittier. Both moves took place shortly after the wedding. They were seen by witnesses as being “extremely affectionate towards each other” and it was further claimed that they were “constantly hugging and kissing”. In April 1997, Rebecca gave Bruce a draft of a separation agreement that she had prepared. According to his parents, at one point he thought about getting a divorce; but by July of that year he had changed his mind and decided he wanted the marriage to be successful, leading to the dinner on July 26 of that year.

Phone records later retrieved indicated that Rebecca had made several calls from the restaurant with either Alvaro or Arturo, Rebecca’s father. After the meal they made their way to Arturo’s apartment. Then, according to the data, Rebecca contacted Alvaro a couple of times around 1 a.m. on the fateful day, and information obtained from cell phone towers brought him to the crime scene area ten minutes before the murder. Authorities suspected that the victim was murdered by Rebecca and Alvaro along with his brother Jose Quezada.

It appears that financial gain was the motivation for Bruce’s death; At the time of his death, he held nearly $1 million in life insurance policies. Authorities were under the impression that Rebecca was interested in receiving not only his salary but also his retirement account. Authorities believed at the time that Jose was the one who fired the shots and Alvaro was the getaway driver. In the end, the police were able to arrest all three suspects for their role in the crime.

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Where are Rebecca Cleland, Alvaro Quezada and Jose Quezada today?

Rebecca Cleland, Alvaro Quezada, and Jose Quezada were all found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder in June 2000, and they all received life sentences based on their convictions with no possibility of parole. But their convictions were overturned in May 2003, leaving Rebecca and Jose free. In January 2007, when she was 37, Rebecca was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of release after being found guilty of the same charges more than three years after the first incident.

As for Jose, his second trial resulted in a mistrial, but he was eventually found guilty at a third trial and received the same sentence as Alvaro and Rebecca. According to inmate records, he is still being held at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California. His brother Alvaro is currently serving his time at Folsom State Prison in Represa, California. Eventually, Rebecca will spend her time behind bars at the California Institution for Women in Corona, located in San Bernardino County.

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