Malietoa Rasmussen, 38, a male resident of Oceanside, was found late on the morning of June 7, 2025, down in a canyon off the 400 block of Country Club Lane. Officers were dispatched at about 11:16 a.m.; lifesaving measures were attempted, but Malietoa Rasmussen, 38, male, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives from the Oceanside Police Department’s Crimes of Violence Unit took over the case and quickly developed a lead.
On June 18, investigators served a search warrant at a home in the 1600 block of Kraft Street and arrested Osvaldo Sixtos Lopez, 36, an Oceanside resident. Malietoa Rasmussen, 38, male, had been found roughly a mile from where the warrant was executed, and police said Lopez was taken into custody without incident and booked into the San Diego Sheriff’s jail on suspicion of murder. No motive was released at that time.
Two weeks after the discovery of Malietoa Rasmussen, 38, male, authorities publicly confirmed the arrest and said Lopez was being held without bail pending arraignment. Coverage citing OPD noted that patrol officers had initially responded to a report of a gunshot victim in the gorge and identified the victim as an Oceanside resident.
By June 20, 2025, prosecutors filed a murder charge with an allegation of firearm use. In court that afternoon, Lopez pleaded not guilty in Vista Superior Court and remained jailed without bail as the case moved forward. Police and local reports described Lopez and Malietoa Rasmussen, 38, male, as acquaintances or friends; investigators did not disclose any specific motive.
In the days that followed, community posts and memorial pages identified Malietoa Rasmussen, 38, male, by name and confirmed the June 7 date of death in Oceanside. Family members organized an online fundraiser to support services and to memorialize his life, underscoring the loss felt by those closest to him while the criminal case proceeded through the courts.
