Ex-wife of police officer arrested on suspicion of Ventura murder

The ex-wife of a Ventura police officer has been arrested in the 2009 slaying of her aunt, a crime that stunned one of the city’s upscale waterfront neighborhoods.

Gina Drake, 45, was booked into Ventura County Jail on Friday — nearly three years after the stabbing death of Wendy DiRodio, 61.

DiRodio, a psychotherapist and avid swing dancer,  had moved to her elderly parents’ Ventura home to help care for them, police said.  She was attacked in her bedroom.

The motive for the crime remains unclear.

However,  police said that Officer Aaron Drake “voluntarily and fully cooperated in the investigation.”  He has been with the department for 12 years.

Drake was placed on paid administrative leave in the early phases of the investigation, when Gina Drake was identified as a suspect, but has since returned to duty.

He filed for divorce in June 2009. The crime occurred on June 3 of that year.

ALSO:

Pit bull bites 2-year-old girl in Anaheim park

Evacuation order lifted in San Diego County fire

Warehouse with $10 million in marijuana plants busted; 5 arrested

-- Steve Chawkins in Ventura