RIO LINDA, CA – A woman has been charged with murder following the discovery of her boyfriend’s mummified and bullet-riddled body in a shallow grave, nearly a year after he was last seen, according to local authorities.
Sofia Fermin, 38, faces charges for the murder of 47-year-old Matthew Clark, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office announced. Additionally, 42-year-old Jerry Mulford is charged with accessory-after-the-fact, though he remains at large and is believed to have fled the state.
The investigation unfolded after Fermin’s brother contacted authorities in January 2024, concerned about Clark’s disappearance following a heated argument with Fermin.
Suspicion grew when it was discovered she had sold Clark’s truck and other belongings. By June, deputies had recovered the vehicle in San Joaquin County, allegedly bearing Mulford’s fingerprints.
Despite being jailed on unrelated charges, Fermin maintained that Clark was at a rehabilitation center somewhere in California. However, as months passed with no word from Clark, detectives shifted their focus to a possible homicide, ramping up the investigation in September 2024.
After pouring over witness statements and gathering new evidence, detectives zeroed in on the notion that Fermin shot Clark after a confrontation in December 2023. Their leads pointed them to a specific location on the 100 block of U Street in Rio Linda, where they believed Clark’s body was secretly buried.
In concert with the FBI Evidence Response Team, deputies combed the area in December. They unearthed a mummified body buried in a shallow grave, which an autopsy later confirmed was Clark’s. The examination disclosed that he had suffered at least five gunshot wounds.
Just before Christmas, Fermin was taken into custody and is now held at the Sacramento County Jail without bail, awaiting her next court appearance on March 27. Meanwhile, authorities continue to seek Mulford’s whereabouts, urging the public to contact the sheriff’s office with any useful information.