Milpitas man charged with murder after woman’s body found buried in his yard

Neighbors told officers they heard a woman screaming early Saturday but did not notify police.

MILPITAS – A Milpitas man has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the death of a woman who was found buried in his yard Wednesday, police said.

Micah James Dovlet, 34, was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail in San Jose on Wednesday and remains in custody, Milpitas police Capt. John Torrez. said in a news release.

Prosecutors said in a criminal complaint that Dovlet was charged with murder, the victim was “particularly vulnerable” and the way the killing was carried out “indicates planning, sophistication or professionalism.”

On Monday, officers went to Tuyet Anh Phan’s home on the 1500 block of North Milpitas Boulevard to do a welfare check because the 59-year-old had not been heard from in several days, Torrez said. They didn’t find her or anything suspicious at the residence.

Neighbors told them they had heard a woman screaming in the area early Saturday. “This information was not reported to the police department at the time,” Torrez said.

On Tuesday, officers found evidence of a crime of violence involving the victim near her residence, Torrez said. Detectives went to the scene and took over the investigation.

Dovlet, who lived near Phan, was detained during the investigation, Torrez said.

Torrez said detectives served a search warrant at Dovlet’s home and collected evidence of a possible homicide, but they didn’t find the victim.

Torrez said detectives returned to Dovlet’s home Wednesday and exhumed the victim’s body from the yard. … Read More in Mercury News or in The Milpitas Beat.