Support for LAist comes from
We Explain L.A.
Stay Connected

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Dog Returns From Walk With Bloody Leash, But Not His Owner

Support your source for local news!
Today, put a dollar value on the trustworthy reporting you rely on all year long. The local news you read here every day is crafted for you, but right now, we need your help to keep it going. In these uncertain times, your support is even more important. We can't hold those in power accountable and uplift voices from the community without your partnership. Thank you.

Darwin Vela was supposed to testify in a celebrity court case on Thursday, but he went missing before he had the chance.

The 22-year-old was walking his chocolate Labrador Retriever, Coco, near his home on South Redondo Boulevard when he disappeared, NBC4 reports. The dog returned home alone with a bloody leash. That's when Vela's girlfriend, Kelly McLaren, called the police, according to KTLA. She said she was worried that Vela went missing because of a court case they were involved with.

“We were witnesses to a crime and we were supposed to testify today,” McLaren told KTLA.

The two were expected to testify against the man suspected of robbing Nicolas Cage's ex-girlfriend's home in April. It wasn't exactly a mafia-like crime -- the handyman stole four computers, and for a while there, people thought he'd also taken a box of the couple's naked photos from the house. That turned out to be untrue. He was arrested in October, according to the Huffington Post.

Support for LAist comes from

This is the first time Vela's gone missing. His mother plans on taking a DNA test on Friday to find out if the blood on the dog's leash was Darwin's, NBC reports.

Most Read