Garrett Hottle
SALTON CITY, CALIF. (KESQ) – New digital evidence and new timeline details in the murder investigation of 17-year-old T’Neya Tovar.
Tovar was reported missing on December 1 in the Salton City area.
Abraham Feinbloom, 51, was arrested Friday on suspicion of murdering a missing Hemet teenager after investigators say he attempted to flee when a SWAT team executed a search warrant at a Salton City home.
The arrest comes nearly eleven weeks after the disappearance of T’Neya “TT” Tovar, a 17‑year‑old from Hemet known for her creative spirit and big personality.
Tovar’s mother, Charro Tovar, filed a missing‑person report on December 1, telling authorities her daughter had traveled to Palm Springs and stopped answering her phone. Charro and Tovar’s father, Josh Carter, say they later learned she planned to meet Feinbloom, a 51‑year‑old man living in a boarded‑up pink house on Harlequin Court.
Partial remains discovered
On December 21, deputies responded to a field near Portsmouth Avenue and Newhaven Court in the Vista Del Mar area of Salton City after someone reported finding human remains. They recovered a decomposed human leg but could not determine its sex, age or race. The remains were sent to a forensic pathologist, and investigators worked for weeks to develop a DNA profile.
Investigators received a positive female DNA match on February 6 and contacted Tovar’s mother for a sample. Rapid testing confirmed the remains belonged to T’Neya Tovar. The Sheriff’s Office publicly confirmed the identification on February 12.
Neighbors’ warnings and a delayed search
In the weeks after Tovar disappeared, Charro and Carter repeatedly drove 70 miles to the Salton City address to request welfare checks. They say deputies knocked but never forced entry and suggested T’Neya might be a runaway. Neighbors described hearing drums, seeing bright lights and occasional screams coming from the house. One neighbor, Jessica Guirron, told News Channel 3 that the family nicknamed Feinbloom “the scary man in the scary house” and that a forensic truck had visited the property in 2015. Another neighbor, Imari Kariotis, said residents began watching the house after December 21 and noticed Feinbloom installing security cameras on December 23.
On February 6, the same day investigators matched the DNA, agents with the FBI and the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at the Harlequin Court property. They knocked on doors and showed neighbors a picture of the man believed to be involved. Residents say the occupant never came outside. A week later, authorities returned with a SWAT team and arrested Feinbloom after he attempted to jump a fence.
What we know about Abraham Feinbloom
Public records list Feinbloom as a musician who had lived at the Harlequin Court home for years. Neighbors said the house was boarded up and surrounded by a pink cinder‑block wall. According to county property records, the deed remained in the name of his deceased parents; neighbors say he continued to live there without transferring ownership. The Sheriff’s Office has not released a motive or said how Feinbloom and Tovar met. Friends of Tovar told her mother they saw the pair together at a transit station in Los Angeles in October, suggesting their relationship may have begun months earlier.
Unanswered questions
Only a portion of Tovar’s remains have been recovered. Investigators have not disclosed a cause of death or said whether anyone else was involved. Charro Tovar questions why deputies waited more than six weeks to test the leg found in December and why multiple wellness checks never resulted in a search warrant. She said she gave investigators Feinbloom’s name, birth date and address early in December and feels her concerns were dismissed because her daughter was on probation. “If they had acted sooner, maybe my child could have been saved,” she said in an interview with News Channel 3.
The Imperial County Sheriff’s Office described the case as a multi‑agency investigation and urged anyone with information to contact Investigator Moreno at (442) 265‑2265. The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for tips leading to a resolution.
A Mother’s Pleas
Charro Tovar began posting about her daughter’s disappearance on Facebook in early December. In a Dec. 5 post she begged friends to share T’Neya’s photo and called the situation “urgent.” By Christmas, she wrote that her daughter had been missing for 25 days and that authorities still had not searched the house on Harlequin Court. Her posts continued through January and February, with increasingly desperate appeals for help and criticism of law enforcement. Charro says she read every rumor, chased every lead and personally contacted the FBI, multiple sheriff’s departments and national organizations. She credits the Salton City community for sharing surveillance videos and tips and says she will not rest until her daughter is fully recovered and justice is served.
TIMELINE
December 1, 2025 – Last Contact
Dec. 1, 2025 – T’Neya vanishes. The 17‑year‑old, headstrong and full of energy, calls her mother, Charro Tovar, to say she is heading to Palm Springs. She promises to return in two weeks but never comes home. That night her phone stops sharing its location. Her parents – Charro and Josh Carter – soon learn she planned to meet a man they did not know. Friends later tell Charro they had seen T’Neya with an older man at the 7th and Metro transit center in Los Angeles in October. It may have been the first time she met Abraham Feinbloom.
December 1–20, 2025 – Frantic Search
Charro and Josh act as detectives. They file a missing‑person report with the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office (ICSO) and repeatedly drive to Harlequin Court in Salton City – the address T’Neya’s phone last pinged. Deputies accompany them on four wellness checks. They pound on the gates of a boarded‑up pink house but the occupant never answers. Officers question neighbors and ask whether T’Neya is a runaway or on drugs. Charro insists this is out of character for her daughter. She shares digital evidence, including T’Neya’s TikTok video showing an arm believed to be Feinbloom’s, and begs authorities to search the property. Neighbors remember seeing T’Neya on the street Dec. 1 but never again.
December 21, 2025 – Remains Discovered
A decomposed leg is found. Deputies respond at 4:22 p.m. to a field near Portsmouth Avenue and Newhaven Court in the Vista Del Mar area of Salton City after reports of human remains. They recover a human leg but cannot determine the sex, age or race. The remains are sent to a forensic pathologist. Charro calls the county coroner on December 23 asking if the leg could be T’Neya’s. She is told the limb appears to belong to a white or Hispanic adult. That same week neighbors notice the occupant at Harlequin Court installing several security cameras around his property – after investigators had already visited. The case goes quiet during the holidays.
December 23, 2025 – Added Security and Community Vigilance
Neighborhood on edge. Neighbors of the pink house call him “the scary man in the scary house.” They report hearing drums, seeing bright lights at night and never getting a good look at the man who rarely left his home. A forensic truck had visited his property back in 2015, neighbors say, in connection with another missing girl. After investigators’ December visit, they notice he installs multiple security cameras and reinforces the walls. Residents begin watching the house, sharing information via text and social media, and even flying a paraglider overhead to get photographs for Charro. One neighbor, Imari Kariotis, tells us the community feels Imperial County officials “dropped the ball.”
February 6, 2026 – Break in the Case
DNA match and first search. After weeks of testing, the Sheriff’s Scientific Investigations Unit receives a positive female DNA match from the leg. Investigators call Charro and ask for her DNA; rapid testing confirms the remains belong to T’Neya. On the same day, FBI agents and sheriff’s detectives execute a search warrant at the house on Harlequin Court. They knock on neighbors’ doors asking if anyone has seen a young woman or heard screaming. One neighbor recounts FBI agents showed her a photo of a man; she recognized his truck but the agents refused to leave her with a picture. Another neighbor says she saw T’Neya’s TikTok clip showing someone’s arm inside the house. The occupant refuses to answer the door.
February 11–12, 2026 – Public Confirmation
Confirmation goes public. On February 11, Charro posts on Facebook that the Imperial County Coroner has confirmed the leg belongs to her daughter. News Channel 3 reports the news, but authorities do not immediately release the information. The following day, the Sheriff’s Office formally confirms that the remains recovered in December are T’Neya’s. The case becomes a
February 13, 2026 – The Arrest
SWAT moves in. At 7:30 a.m., the Imperial County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team, joined by FBI agents, serves a second search warrant at Harlequin Court. As officers approach, 51‑year‑old Abraham Feinbloom jumps a fence and tries to run. He is immediately caught and turned over to the FBI for questioning. Deputies process the property for evidence and eventually arrest Feinbloom on suspicion of murder and resisting a peace officer. He is booked into jail without bail. In a press release, the Sheriff’s Office thanks the FBI, Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney’s Office for their work and offers condolences to T’Neya’s family.
February 13, 2026 – A Mother’s Relief and Grief
Charro’s voicemail. Minutes after the arrest, Charro calls our newsroom and leaves an emotional voicemail: “SWAT and FBI are at Abraham’s house to arrest him … Thank God that he has been arrested already”. Despite relief, she still demands answers. Only part of her daughter’s remains have been recovered. She wants to know why investigators waited more than two months to test the DNA and why repeated wellness checks failed to produce a search warrant.
February 15, 2026 – Parents Speak Out
Exclusive interview. In a sit‑down with News Channel 3, Charro Tovar and Josh Carter describe their anguish. They explain that deputies originally asked whether T’Neya was a runaway or on drugs and did not request Charro’s DNA until February 6. Charro says she personally conducted online research and provided deputies with Feinbloom’s name, birth date and address. She says the delay in confirming the leg prevented her from mourning sooner. Josh calls Feinbloom a “ghost” who hid behind boarded‑up windows and warns that there may be other victims. Charro praises the Salton City community for sharing surveillance videos and tips and vows to keep pushing until her daughter’s body is found.
The FBI said it is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to a resolution of the case.
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