The man accused of murdering year-old San Luis Obispo woman Kristen Marti was a john who was meeting the victim for paid sex on the day she disappeared, according to police testimony delivered Wednesday. According to testimony from investigators, Marti was known to prostitute herself for sex and drugs. Defendant Robert Koehler was known to seek women for sex on Craigslist and Tinder, even when he had a pregnant wife. Marti was last seen alive on Jan. Koehler is believed to have been the last person to have been with Marti while she was alive, and he reportedly told investigators that he spent time with the woman on Jan.
The murder victim had been missing for nearly three months when officers found her body in a creek near Perfumo Canyon during a large search of the area. In early May, Koehler fled the Central Coast with his wife.
Officers were tracking him, though, and he was arrested in Minnesota and extradited to San Luis Obispo County. He has pleaded not guilty. On Jan. Marti never called for a ride home, but she texted Reed in all capital letters, asking if he was on Perfumo Canyon.
Former police officer Jacob Dinsmore, who days later took a missing person report from Reed, testified Reed told him that he and another friend drove up to Perfumo Canyon and saw Marti with an unknown man inside a car. Reed told Dinsmore Marti appeared to be okay. Police testified that Marti was using textPlus, an app that allows users to anonymously text and call, in order to communicate with a user by the name of John Hill. Between Dec. The messages discussed exchanging drugs or sex for money.
Koehler was the owner of a mobile mechanic service that operated in northern Santa Barbara and southern San Luis Obispo counties prior to his arrest. Earlier in the day, Koehler met another woman for sex.
