Deputies follow trail of blood and find dead body. Chico man under arrest, sheriff says

A Chico man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murder after deputies responded to a 911 call in Forest Ranch and followed a trail of blood that led to a dead body, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies were dispatched to a business in Forest Ranch, a foothills community northeast of Chico, at 9:26 p.m. Tuesday after receiving a 911 call for a man with a large cut on his leg, the sheriff said in a news release. Deputies found the man at the business, identified as Robert Anderson, 25, of Chico.

After investigation, deputies determined that Anderson had been driven to the business from a home on Schott Road in Forest Ranch. Anderson allegedly told deputies he’d been involved in a fight at the home with another man.

While Anderson was transported to a local area hospital, deputies went to the home in the 4800 block of Schott Road to investigate. When they arrived, deputies found a trail of blood leading up to the home. In the driveway, they found a dead man. He was identified as Gunther Rupprecht, 30, of Forest Ranch.

Anderson was later arrested on suspicion of first degree murder and booked into the Butte County Jail, the sheriff’s office said.

This story was originally published August 28, 2019 at 8:47 AM.