Officials at the Santa Clara County Main Jail have reassigned a deputy who told a man attempting to confess to a murder that he was in the wrong facility.
The deputy then instructed the would-be confessor to go to police headquarters two blocks away, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
The suspect, 28-year-old Hugo Ernesto Castro, walked into the jail Monday ready to confess to the murder of his former girlfriend, Alessandra Barlas, 27.
A civilian staff member greeted Castro, but found no active warrants for him. So the staffer asked a correctional deputy to speak with Castro.
Castro spoke with the deputy and reportedly handed over a note to the civilian staffer showing the address of where officers could find a dead body.
However, the deputy said the case was not in the jail's jurisdiction and gave Castro the address of San Jose Police Headquarters.
Castro was allowed to walk away from the jail without an escort. He walked over to police headquarters where he was taken into custody, according to Newser.
Authorities visited the address Castro supplied, and found Barlas' body. She had been stabbed at least once, according to SFGate.com. The apartment where she died belonged to a third party.