Glendale, Arizona police have arrested Dominic Rodolico, 24, in connection with the murder of 21-year-old Arianna Bailey Jones. Investigators discovered what they believe to be Jones' remains in a shallow grave in a remote desert area north of Phoenix. Rodolico faces a charge of first-degree premeditated murder.
According to police, Jones and Rodolico met through social media and arranged to meet in person. Detectives believe the pair went on what was likely their first date, attending a movie before traveling to the desert location where the crime is alleged to have occurred. When questioned by investigators, Rodolico denied killing Jones. He claimed that two unknown men suddenly appeared in the desert and attacked both him and Jones. Rodolico told detectives he managed to escape while Jones remained behind.
"He is saying that the two of them were in this remote area and that two individuals showed up and attacked them," said Glendale Police Department Public Information Officer Jose Santiago. "At some point, he made his escape, and Ms. Jones stayed behind."
Investigators stated that physical evidence, surveillance video, and digital evidence collected during the investigation linked Rodolico to the crime. Police said his account of events changed multiple times during interviews. "His story continuously changed," Santiago noted. "The attack became a little bit more dramatic, less dramatic." Authorities found it suspicious that Rodolico did not report the alleged attack to law enforcement or call 911. "He never reported the incident to us," Santiago said. "He never made a call to police or to anyone to let anyone know about this attack."
Santiago added that Rodolico told investigators Jones was "probably not alive" after the alleged attack, despite never contacting authorities. Surveillance video reportedly captured Rodolico cleaning the back seat of his vehicle after Jones disappeared. Police also noted that Rodolico had wounds consistent with stab injuries, which he attributed to the alleged attackers.
Authorities utilized the department’s Real Time Crime Center, surveillance cameras, and cellphone data to reconstruct the couple’s movements. Police tracked the pair from Jones’ apartment to a movie theater and then to the desert location. A movie theater concession cup found at the crime scene helped investigators connect the burial site to the couple's date. Evidence also showed Rodolico had visited the secluded area multiple times before Jones disappeared, though investigators have not yet determined if the killing was premeditated. "We don’t know if he was planning this or if this was happenstance," Santiago said.
Jones' family reported her missing on July 7, after not hearing from her for several days. They informed investigators that this lack of communication was highly unusual. During a search of Jones’ apartment, officers found her cellphone and discovered her dog locked in a crate, apparently without food and in its own waste for several days. "That was enough of an indication that there at least had been some kind of suspicious nature," Santiago stated.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office is working to determine the official cause and manner of death. Investigators said clothing and other physical evidence recovered with the body matched Jones, allowing for identification. Santiago credited the department’s Special Investigations Unit, the US Marshals Task Force, and advanced investigative technology with helping to solve the case in approximately four days. "We were able to pinpoint him attending her apartment. We were able to pinpoint him attending these different areas, going to the movies," Santiago said. "We were able to pinpoint their cellphone usage in different areas. All of that combined helped us really solve the case on top of the good detective work from our folks."
According to police, Rodolico has a prior arrest history involving theft-related offenses and was on probation at the time of his arrest. He is being held on a $2 million cash bond. Court records indicate Rodolico was previously sentenced in November 2025 to two years of supervised probation after pleading guilty to criminal impersonation related to the burglary of two gas stations in May 2025. Investigators are awaiting additional forensic testing and the medical examiner’s findings as they continue to investigate a motive.