Jenica Ochoa and Kenneth Tompkins pleaded not guilty after police found Lawrence Brennen dead in a Santa Barbara apartment.

A not-guilty plea to a concealment count is not a finding about how Lawrence Brennen died. A homicide investigation, in the New York Post's first sentence, and concealing an accidental death, in Noozhawk's charge line, are not the same account. November 30 is the next date both outlets printed. In jail on Monday, and out of custody Tuesday afternoon, are not the same status.

Noozhawk, by Evelyn Spence, published November 3, 2026, at 3:38 p.m., with no zone on the clock, reported Santa Barbara police said Tuesday that the person found dead last week in an apartment in the West Beach neighborhood was Lawrence Brennen, 39, of Santa Barbara. It reported Commander Ben Ahrens identified him. It reported police conducted a welfare check on the 100 block of Los Aguajes Avenue on October 27 and returned the following day with a search warrant and found him dead inside. It reported Jenica Ochoa, 45, and Kenneth Tompkins, 43, were arrested and criminally charged with concealing an accidental death. It reported that, per Superior Court records, they are accused of concealing his body from family, friends, or law enforcement, wrapping it in a bedroll, putting it in a metal container, and wrapping the container with plastic wrap. It reported sheriff's office arrest records indicate both lived in the same building. It reported they were arraigned Friday on felony conspiracy, concealing a death, which it called a misdemeanor, and second strike enhancements, that both pleaded not guilty, and that they are set to return November 30. Concealing an accidental death, in the charge sentence, and concealing a death, in the arraignment sentence, are not the same count name on that page. It reported they were no longer in police custody as of Tuesday afternoon. It reported Ahrens told Noozhawk on Monday that the two were the only people arrested in the incident at that time, and that both have previous felony convictions. It reported additional information about how Brennen died was not available.

Noozhawk's earlier story, the same byline, published November 2, 2026, at 8:38 p.m. and updated November 3, 2026, at 8:32 a.m., again with no zone, reported they were separately booked into the Santa Barbara Main Jail on Thursday on suspicion of concealing an accidental death. On suspicion of, on Thursday, and criminally charged, in the Tuesday naming story, are not the same status. It reported Superior Court records say they allegedly concealed a body from family, friends, or law enforcement, wrapped a body in a bedroll, put a body in a metal container, and wrapped the container with saran wrap. Saran wrap, in the Monday story, and plastic wrap, in the Tuesday story, are not the same words. It reported they were charged with felony conspiracy, concealing a death as a misdemeanor, and second strike enhancements, were arraigned Friday, and are due back November 30. It reported both remained in jail as of Monday afternoon. It reported custody logs showed Ochoa's bail at $100,000 and Tompkins's at $500,000. The Tuesday story's report that they were out of custody that afternoon did not repeat the bail figures. It reported Lt. Ryan DeJohn said police responded at 9:37 p.m. on October 27 for a welfare check, contacted a resident, and identified suspicious circumstances, then returned Wednesday morning with a search warrant and found a deceased person. It reported Ahrens on Monday called the investigation intricate and said, "It's going to take some time on this," and that police were waiting on the Coroner's Bureau. It reported the name was not available Monday. It reported Ochoa has convictions for embezzlement, forgery, burglary, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and conspiracy, dating to 2007, and that she was arrested in 2016 with 19 other people after an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Santa Barbara police into narcotics and firearms sales. It reported Tompkins has convictions for driving under the influence, petty theft, burglary, forgery, and presenting false identification to a peace officer, dating to 2013.

The New York Post, by Ross O'Keefe, published November 4, 2026, at 2:53 p.m. ET, opened by calling the case a homicide investigation after Santa Barbara police searched a residence and found a body concealed. A homicide investigation, in that first sentence, and concealing an accidental death, on Noozhawk, are not the same description of the death. The next paragraph reported a welfare check. The first sentence had called it a wellness check. Wellness and welfare are not the same word, and they are both on that page. It reported the request came October 27 around 9:37 p.m. at a residence in the 100 block of Los Aguajes Avenue. Around 9:37 p.m., and 9:37 p.m., are not the same precision. It named Jenica Monique Ochoa, 45, and Kenneth Eugene Tompkins, 43. The middle names are the Post's. They are not in the Noozhawk stories read here. It reported officers contacted a resident and left after what they considered suspicious circumstances. Left after experiencing suspicious circumstances, and identified suspicious circumstances and returned with a warrant, are not the same account of the first visit. It reported the warrant was executed the next morning and that charging documents say Lawrence Brennen's body, a 39-year-old Santa Barbara resident, was in a bedroll, placed in a metal container, and wrapped in plastic. A later sentence on the same page printed "39-year-old 39-year-old." Wrapped in plastic, saran wrap, and plastic wrap are three phrases. It reported Commander Ben Ahrens described the investigation as intricate to Noozhawk. It reported both lived in the building according to custody records, and that they were booked on felony conspiracy and misdemeanor concealment of a death. Concealment of a death, and concealing a death, and concealing an accidental death, are not the same words. It reported both have a second strike enhancement involving earlier first-degree burglary convictions, according to court records. First-degree burglary, as the strike Noozhawk's longer conviction list does not isolate, is the Post's description. It reported prosecutors alleged the pair conspired to conceal the death between October 23 and October 27, according to SFGATE. October 23 is not in the Noozhawk stories read here. The SFGATE page was not opened, so that date range is the Post's attribution. It reported a 2014 Tulare County conviction for Tompkins and a 2008 Santa Barbara County conviction for Ochoa, according to KTLA. Those years and counties are not in the Noozhawk list read here. The KTLA page was not opened. It reported neither has been charged with causing his death, that both pleaded not guilty and denied the enhancements, and that it is unclear how he died or what his relationship to them was. Denied the enhancements is the Post's. The Noozhawk stories read here say they pleaded not guilty and do not print that denial. It reported they return to Santa Barbara County Superior Court on November 30 for a preliminary hearing to be scheduled. For a preliminary hearing to be scheduled, and return to court on November 30, are not the same description of that date.

Noozhawk's Tuesday story is the one that names Lawrence Brennen and says the two were out of custody that afternoon. Noozhawk's Monday story is the one that still has them in the Santa Barbara Main Jail, with two different bail amounts. The Post's Wednesday story is the one that says neither is charged with causing his death and that the case, in the first sentence, is a homicide investigation. A charge of concealing a death, and a plea of not guilty to that charge, are not a finding that either defendant killed him. November 30 is the date the pages printed. It is not a hearing that those stories said had already been held. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.