Missing Arizona woman and her alleged stalker found dead in car: 'He scared her'

Two people who were found dead in a vehicle parked in front of a Phoenix, Arizona steakhouse have been identified as a missing woman and the man accused of stalking her.

Doris Maricela Aguilar, 25, and Juan Jose Velis Cuellar, 51, were discovered in the car located in the parking lot of the business on the evening of July 7, the Phoneix Police Department said in a news release.

Witnesses told responding officers the "vehicle and the occupants appeared to be in the same position for several days," according to the police.

Police determined that Cueller died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, while the Maricopa Medical Examiner has not released Aguilar's cause of death.

A firearm was also found inside the vehicle. Police did not say who the gun belonged to.

Doris Maricela Aguilar went missing on July 1

Phoenix police had been searching for Aguilar since July 1, according to a missing persons posters posted by private investigator Steve Fischer and Missing People In America.

Fischer and Missing People In America said Aguilar went to the store around 8:30 p.m. on July 1 and never returned home. Police located her car, which was unlocked, on July 7 and found her purse and a wallet full of cash inside, according to Fischer and the missing persons organization.

Fischer told local stations KTVK 3TV, KPHO-TV and CBS 5 that Aguilar warned her family about how she felt in danger from a stalker who wouldn’t leave her alone.

“She did tell her family and important people in her life about this person, and that if anything happened to her, he was responsible and he scared her,” Fischer said, per the Arizona-based TV stations.

Doris Maricela Aguilar changed gyms before disappearing

The stalker worked in the same building as Aguilar, but he was fired about a year ago after she reported him for stalking and sending her obsessive and threatening messages, according to Fischer, per the TV stations.

When Aguilar encountered the stalker multiple times in her gym parking lot, she switched gyms.

“She moved to Lifetime Fitness. And I think the last Facebook post that he made is a post saying, ‘Getting my Lifetime membership back. See you soon,’ and that was on June 27," Fischer told the TV stations. "Three days later we never saw her again and we never saw him either."

USA TODAY contacted Fischer on Monday but has not received a response.