Daniel Scott Jordan is accused of killing his husband, Kevin Powell, in August and has an extradition hearing Oct. 7 in Reno, Nevada, where a judge could decide to remand him to San Diego for trial.
The cause of death for Powell, 38, is sealed in court documents by a judge, but the murder charge alleges Jordan, 44, killed his husband with a knife in their La Mesa home on Aug. 10.
Jordan fled the area and was arrested in Reno, Nevada, on Aug. 20 on a no-bail murder warrant.
Jordan remains in the Washoe County Detention Facility pending the Oct. 7 hearing, which is his second extradition-related hearing.
Powell was a well-liked employee of the city of Chula Vista and he missed several online meetings on Aug. 11. Two sergeants with Chula Vista Police showed up at his home in the 4400 block of Carmen Drive to do a welfare check.
They found him dead, according to the Sheriff’s Department, which assumed jurisdiction because it was in an unincorporated part of La Mesa.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Michael Groch issued the no-bail bench warrant for Jordan’s arrest on Aug. 14. Judge Evan Kirvin sealed the arrest warrant declaration on Aug. 19.
A page in the criminal file says Kirvin sealed the contents of the declaration which includes the cause of death because there are confidential matters in it.
Tributes to Powell on his online obituary poured in from fellow and former workers in the human resources department for the city of Chula Vista.
Powell formerly worked for the County of San Diego and the city of Coronado. He was a frequent participant in the annual AIDS Life Cycle event, his obituary says.
He is survived by his parents, Diane and Randy Powell, his brother Kyle and his wife Torey, along with nieces, a nephew, other relatives, and many friends.
“Kevin was a victim of a senseless violent crime,” his obituary reads. “Kevin will be fondly remembered as a kindhearted adventurer who never let a good time pass by.”
By coincidence, another La Mesa man, Tommy Zupner, is awaiting trial on a murder charge in the alleged forced-feeding murder of his husband, Blake Synowski, in 2019. Zupner has pleaded not guilty.
