MURRIETA, Calif. (WKRC) – A man allegedly broke into a random house and stabbed an elderly man to death before stabbing his wife in the head with a screwdriver.
The Murrieta Police Department announced in a press release that it received a 911 call at 8:18 a.m. on November 5 from a woman who reported “that an unknown person had entered her home and attacked both her and her husband.”
“The reporting party stated she had been stabbed in the head with a screwdriver, while her husband had been stabbed with a knife,” the release read. “The caller also indicated that her husband appeared to be deceased and that the suspect had fled out the back door.”
The caller clarified that she did not recognize the suspect and did not have any history with him prior to the stabbing.
Upon arriving to the scene, officers reportedly confirmed that the woman’s 70-year-old husband had been killed in the stabbing and began searching for the suspect. The woman was taken to the hospital as officers began a coordinated search of the area. As of the publication of the press release, the woman was in stable condition.
The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Manual Arturo Alvarez, was allegedly found at 8:57 a.m. hiding in a ravine in a nearby residential area.
“The male failed to comply with officers’ commands and concealed himself in nearby bushes,” the release said. “After several minutes of unsuccessful attempts to gain compliance, a police K-9 was deployed to assist in apprehending the male. He was quickly taken into custody and later identified as the suspect in the homicide.”
Alvarez was charged with homicide and attempted homicide.