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Autopsy report of body being transported in back of SUV detailed as "natural"

Posted at 10:20 PM, Aug 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-06 09:48:50-04

UPDATE (October 06, 2017 6:40 a.m.): The autopsy report for the body being transported in the car of a Bakersfield couple was released and it detailed that the cause of death of the 83-year-old man as "natural". 

The report stated that Donald Cunningham, a transient from Bakersfield, died of a heart attack. 

On August 15, 2017 deputies found Cunningham's body in the back of an SUV that was occupied by Darwin Alaskari and Sherrie Lynn Boggess along with their 13-year-old son. 

Authorities believe that Cunningham died in Kern County but Boggess and Alaskari told them they were taking the body to Big Sur for burial.

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UPDATE (August 18, 2017): The District Attorney said charges will be filed against Bakersfield residents Darwin Alaskari and Sherrie Boggess on Friday. They are currently facing felony charges of child endangerment and possession of methamphetamine. The DA said they are waiting for the autopsy report from the coroner's office before they file the handling of human remains charge. Alaskari and Boggess will most likely be in court on Monday, the DA said.

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Two people believed to be from the Bakersfield area were arrested in Cayucos on Tuesday, after San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's deputies found a dead body in their car.

Deputies noticed Jeep SUV pulled over on the wrong side of the road in a Cayucos neighborhood around 2:30 p.m. When they got closer to the car, that was when they smelled something foul, said Tony Cipolla with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies found a decomposing male body in the back cargo area of the car, as well as illegal narcotics and paraphenila near a 13-year-old girl.

Deputies arrested Darwin Keith Alaskari and his wife Sherrie Lynn Boggess. They identified the 13-year-old girl as their daughter. Alaskari, 59 and Boggess, 50 are transients from the Bakersfield area, deputies said.

Alaskari and Boggess were long-time acquaintences of the deceased male, Cipolla said. The sheriff's office is currently investigating why they had the dead body and what exactly they were doing in Cayucos.

Alaskari and Boggess were arrested for felony child endangerment and misdemeanor warrants. Their 13-year-old daughter was put in the care of child protective services.