Man Found Dead Under ‘Suspicious Circumstance’ in Santa Barbara Remembered as Loving Father, Brother

Lawrence Matthew Brennen, 39, has been identified as the deceased man found last week inside an apartment on Los Aguajes Avenue in Santa Barbara’s West Beach neighborhood.

On the night of October 28, the Santa Barbara Police Department received a call requesting a welfare check at an apartment in the West Beach neighborhood on Los Aguajes Avenue. Officers reported to the residence where they “identified suspicious circumstances,” according to SBPD Lieutenant Ryan DeJohn, which then led officers to arrest two residents of the apartment, Jenica Ochoa, 45, and Kenneth Tompkins, 43, that night. 

SBPD began investigating the incident and obtained a search warrant which they served the next day. Officers searched the residence just before 7 a.m. on October 29 and found Brennen’s body wrapped in a bed roll, placed in a metal container, and sealed with plastic wrap. 

Ochoa and Tompkins have been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and concealing a death. The pair have pleaded not guilty to their charges and have been released on bail. 

This is not the first time Ochoa or Tompkins have been arrested on felony charges in Santa Barbara County.

Ochoa was sentenced by Santa Barbara Superior Court to state prison on three separate occasions, the first being after she was convicted of felony burglary in 2007. She then went on to be charged with possession of a firearm — a felony charge for those who have already been convicted of a felony in the past — in both 2011 and 2016, with the latter being compounded by a second charge of conspiracy to commit a crime. 

Tompkins was sentenced to County Jail by Lompoc Criminal Court in 2014 after he was convicted of felony burglary and a misdemeanor of forgery of checks and or bank bills. 

Both are expected to report to Santa Barbara Superior Court on November 30 for their new set of felony charges. 

The SBPD Criminal Investigations Unit is actively working on the incident and the details about what led up to Brennen’s death have not yet been released.

“While we are still awaiting answers, we are asking anyone who can to help donate so we can give him a beautiful funeral,” said the deceased’s daughter Mia Brennen. Those who wish to contribute to the family can do so though the family’s Support Now page.   

“My dad was always a free spirit,” said the deceased’s daughter. She remembers Brennan as a loving father, brother, and friend who always had a story to tell about his adventures. “His laughter would fill the room with a smile that would wipe away any tear,” she said. “We will keep you in our hearts forever, dad.”