Anthony Vincent "Tony" DePiazza, a 39-year-old man, was found dead on November 23, 2015, in Riverside County, California. His body was discovered by dirt bikers near El Nido and Christmas Tree Lane in Lake Matthews. The Riverside County coroner determined that DePiazza died from gunshot wounds. Investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department believe that DePiazza was killed in a home on Van Karajan Drive in Rancho Palos Verdes in late October 2015, and his body was subsequently
dumped in an open field near Perris, southeast of Riverside.
The investigation led authorities to the house on Van Karajan Drive, where DePiazza had rented a room. On December 9, 2015, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department executed a search warrant at the residence. During the operation, one suspect, Randell Dee Stewart, barricaded himself in a bedroom and refused to leave for several hours before eventually surrendering peacefully. Stewart, a 55-year-old man who also rented a room in the house, was arrested on suspicion of murder. Another individual, Bruce Ciarrocchi, a 48-year-old man who owned the house, was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to murder. Investigators believe that Stewart shot DePiazza and that Ciarrocchi assisted in cleaning up the crime scene and moving DePiazza's body.
Both Stewart and Ciarrocchi were charged in connection with DePiazza's death. Stewart faced charges of murder, while Ciarrocchi was charged with being an accessory after the fact. The men were scheduled to be arraigned on December 23, 2015, at the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Torrance. Stewart was held in lieu of $1 million bail, and Ciarrocchi was held without bail. The case drew significant attention due to the circumstances surrounding DePiazza's death and the subsequent arrests.
The investigation into DePiazza's murder revealed that the house on Van Karajan Drive had been the subject of numerous complaints from neighbors regarding suspicious activities, including drug-related incidents. The discovery of DePiazza's body and the arrests of Stewart and Ciarrocchi highlighted the ongoing issues at the residence and the broader implications for the community. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department continued to seek information from the public to aid in their investigation, urging anyone with knowledge of the case to come forward.
