Turns out, Erik Grumpelt -- the Mesa man accused of murdering his girlfriend and living with her decomposing body in his apartment for more than two months -- is a meth head.
According to court documents obtained by New Times, Grumpelt tested positive for amphetamine while hospitalized earlier this week, and he admitted to police that he's an addict.
Additionally, Grumpelt was hospitalized because he tried to kill himself by overdosing on drugs after telling his father about killing his girlfriend.
If you're not familiar with the twisted tale, click here -- or keep reading.
Grumpelt, yesterday, admitted to kneeing his girlfriend, 39-year-old Malinda Raya,
in the abdomen three or four times on the morning of May 19 -- after
she admitted to sleeping with other men in his bed.
Cops were only called on Monday -- more than two months after Raya's death.
The body was found in Grumpelt's apartment in the Shorebird Apartment Homes near U.S. 60 and Country Club Drive in Mesa. It was wrapped in sheets on the floor of his bedroom and carpet deodorizers and air fresheners were found near the corpse in an attempt to mask the odor of a body in "advanced stages of decomposition."
When police got to the scene, they could smell the body from outside of Grumpelt's apartment.
Grumpelt stayed at
his father's house Sunday night and told him about the dead girlfriend
he had stashed in his apartment. The next morning, Chandler paramedics
were called to Grumpelt's house after he tried to O.D. His father told paramedics about the body. They then called police.
Grumpelt was admitted to the Chandler Regional Hospital on
Monday morning. He was released Tuesday and taken into custody.
Following his arrest,
Grumpelt told police he gave Raya CPR for about 30 minutes after the
assault, but was unable to revive her. He admitted to kneeing her in the
abdomen, but says killing her was an accident.
Grumbelt was booked on one count of
second-degree murder.
