T’Neya Tovar case: Salton City man charged with murder after missing teen’s leg found

SALTON CITY, Calif. (KABC) — When 17-year-old T’Neya Tovar stopped answering her mother’s calls on Dec. 1, Charro Tovar knew something was wrong.

The teenager had run away from her foster group home in Hemet, but mother and daughter remained in close contact through shared calls and texts.

Then, suddenly, the phone went silent. The location-sharing app was turned off.

But when a friend of her daughter’s sent Tovar a message over social media to say T’Neya was missing, she immediately contacted authorities.

She also posted on TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook, pleading for help. Strangers began sharing her daughter’s photo and story across platforms.

“I have to thank people for sharing my daughter’s story,” she said. “I appreciate it so much.”

Tovar says T’Neya had last been dropped off at a home on Harlequin Court in Salton City. The home belongs to 51-year-old Abraham Feinbloom.

Imperial County sheriff’s deputies conducted welfare checks at the residence in December after pleading from Tovar. Meanwhile, the family put up missing person flyers hoping for information.

On Dec. 21, investigators discovered a dismembered leg in a nearby field.

It wasn’t until Feb. 6 that DNA testing confirmed the remains belonged to T’Neya. Investigators have alleged that bullet fragments were recovered from the remains, leading them to believe she’d been killed by gunshot.

Following two search warrants on Feb. 6 and then on the 13, Feinbloom was arrested after he attempted to run from authorities. On Wednesday, he pleaded not guilty in Imperial County Superior Court to one count of first-degree murder with a firearm enhancement.

Authorities said he was detained with his passport and Thai currency in his possession.

Court records show Feinbloom previously faced felony kidnapping charges that were dismissed in 2019. He was also arrested in 2016 on suspicion of lewd acts involving a child.

For Charro Tovar, she wants her daughter remembered not as a murder victim, but as a teenager who struggled, who made mistakes and who was loved.

Tovar is planning to hold a candlelight vigil for her daughter outside the Salton City property on Sunday from 2-5 p.m.

Feinbloom is scheduled to return to court Feb. 23 for a preliminary hearing.