Investigators say digital records traced a July 5 movie date to the remote area where the 21-year-old woman was found.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — An Arizona man has been charged with first-degree murder after investigators found human remains believed to be those of a 21-year-old woman in a shallow grave near Lake Pleasant, police and court records say.
Domonic Scot-Glen Rodolico, 24, of Peoria, is accused of killing Arianna Bailey Jones after the two met in person for a date July 5. Investigators say Jones and Rodolico had communicated through social media before going to a movie theater. Her family reported her missing two days later. Rodolico remained jailed Tuesday on a $2 million cash-only bond. A motive and Jones’ cause of death had not been released.
A relative contacted Glendale police July 7 after no one had heard from Jones for two days. Officers checked her apartment and found her dog inside a kennel without food or water, according to local reports citing police and court documents. A friend told investigators that Jones had planned to meet an acquaintance for a movie on the night she disappeared.
Police reviewed cellphone information, vehicle records and surveillance video as they traced Jones’ movements. Investigators identified Rodolico as the man who had been with her and found video showing the pair at a Harkins theater. An arrest affidavit said they bought drinks and snacks and later left carrying white plastic souvenir cups.
Cellphone data showed the pair traveled north to a remote desert area after the movie, according to the affidavit. Their devices remained there for about 45 to 50 minutes. Jones’ phone then disconnected from the network, and data showed Rodolico leaving the area about 10 minutes later, investigators said.
Police said Rodolico had traveled to the same location before picking up Jones. The affidavit alleges that equipment and supplies found there suggested preparations had been made in advance. Investigators reported finding concrete-mix bags, gloves, water bottles and other objects at the scene. They also found two theater souvenir cups resembling those seen in surveillance footage, according to the affidavit.
Authorities searched the area where Jones’ phone had stopped transmitting. Cadaver dogs located human remains in a shallow grave July 11, police said. Authorities said they believed the remains were Jones’, although formal identification by the medical examiner was still pending in the latest reports.
Investigators placed Rodolico under surveillance during the missing-person inquiry. Detectives said they saw him cleaning the passenger area and trunk of his Nissan Sentra at a car wash and later at his home. He was arrested July 11 while he was reportedly cleaning the vehicle. Court documents also noted that he had an injury to one hand.
During an interview, Rodolico acknowledged being with Jones but gave an account that investigators described as false, according to the affidavit. Police said he initially claimed two unknown men approached them in the desert and attacked Jones while he escaped. He later admitted that account was not true and offered a different explanation involving an unidentified man, the affidavit alleges. Police said he could not provide evidence supporting that version of events. Rodolico has denied killing Jones.
Glendale police spokesperson Jose Santiago said investigators had evidence connecting Rodolico and Jones and showing that Rodolico had visited the desert location several times. Santiago said authorities were still working to determine what happened and why. Police have not announced evidence establishing a motive.
Records reviewed by FOX 10 Phoenix show Rodolico was serving two years of probation when he was arrested. He had been convicted of criminal impersonation after authorities said he posed as an employee and took money from two convenience stores in 2025. Police said that earlier case did not involve violence.
Jones was the mother of a 2-year-old boy. Her mother, Sophia Sardinas, told Arizona’s Family that Jones wanted a family and had plans for her future. Sardinas said relatives searched for Jones and distributed missing-person flyers before learning that remains had been found.
The Maricopa County medical examiner had not released a cause or manner of death as of Tuesday. Rodolico is accused of first-degree premeditated murder, but the charge is an allegation, and he is presumed innocent unless convicted. Authorities had not announced his next court date.