US woman, 37, allegedly killed & hacked to pieces by husband, 25, due to 'pregnancy weight gain'

A Scottish woman, June Bunyan, who had moved to America in the hopes of taking the bar and becoming a defence attorney was found dismembered inside her Los Angeles apartment on Sep. 11, reported KTLA 5 News.

Her husband, 25-year-old Jonathan Renteria, has been arrested and charged with her murder and the mutilation of her body, according to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).

The alleged murder

The cause of her death was determined to be due to traumatic neck injuries.

A few weeks before the alleged murder took place, deputies had been tipped through a 911 call about a possible suicide case at a hotel, according to NBC Los Angeles.

There, investigators found a man suffering from wrist injuries.

The LAPD also said that they found a suicide note which stated that the man had killed his wife.

This prompted a welfare check at Bunyan’s apartment by the LAPD, where her body’s remains were eventually found.

LAPD investigators believe that she was actually murdered on Sep. 4, several days before her body was discovered.

Neighbours said that there was a foul smell of decomposing flesh coming from the apartment, with flies filling the hallway, and officers arrived to find dismembered “limbs in a plastic bag”.

Neighbour Arielle Miller told KTLA that she saw Bunyan’s remains being carried out in multiple body bags.

“The first body bag that came down … I said that’s not all of her.

And then came another bag and that’s when I knew that she was not in one piece.”

Troubled marriage

According to Miller, Bunyan had met Renteria through Twitter (now X).

The 37-year-old woman, who was described as being “really friendly and really outgoing”, as quoted by CBS News, wanted to defend the most vulnerable in court.

The two married shortly after her arrival in America, with Bunyan establishing Renteria Paralegal Services in 2024, specialising in immigration law. The couple also had a baby girl.

However, this new arrival into the household supposedly prompted nasty remarks from Bunyan’s husband about her getting bigger due to the pregnancy.

Miller said that Renteria had made a comment about his wife soon ceasing to be his “muscle mama” because of this weight gain.

“She was trying to leave, and that’s when he killed her,” Miller alleged.

She further claimed that Bunyan had sent messages saying: “The further I go into this marriage, the less I feel I can depend on him. I’ve never seen him so nasty before.”

Marriage unknown to family

Renteria’s father, Julio, was quoted in newspaper reports saying the family had no knowledge of his marriage to Bunyan, according to the BBC.

Miller has also confirmed this, saying that the couple did not live together and that Renteria would sometimes vanish for weeks or months at a time before resurfacing.

Julio said he only found out his son was married following June’s murder, The Scottish Sun reported.

“We don’t know where they met. We don’t know anything. We don’t know anything about her.

He also added: “We feel horrible for her family. We didn’t even know he had a girlfriend.

Fundraiser for Bunyan

Bunyan’s family is organising a campaign in order to raise funds to bring Bunyan’s remains back home to Scotland.

On her GoFundMe page, friends and family said that Bunyan was known for her "vibrant personality, infectious laugh, and deeply compassionate heart".

“June was loved by so many people, and she didn’t deserve the way that she was disrespected, and she deserves dignity in death,” Miller agreed.

Renteria is being held at the Twin Tower Correctional Facility in Los Angeles with a bail set at US$4 million (S$5.16 million) and his next court date is scheduled for Nov. 18.

Top images via GoFundMe, Pixabay