Authorities in Murrieta, California, have charged 36-year-old Manual Alvarez with homicide and attempted homicide after a violent home invasion that left one man dead and his wife seriously injured in what investigators believe was a random attack.
According to a statement from the Murrieta Police Department, officers were dispatched around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to a home on Old Spring Road after receiving a frantic 911 call from a woman who said an “unknown person” had entered her residence and attacked both her and her 70-year-old husband.
The woman told dispatchers she believed her husband was dead and that the suspect had fled through the back door. She described the attacker as a barefoot man with a beard and mustache, wearing a black shirt and pants.
When officers arrived, they found the woman suffering from a stab wound to the head caused by a screwdriver and confirmed her husband had been fatally stabbed with a knife. Police immediately began searching the area, and about 30 minutes later, they located a man hiding in a ravine behind a nearby home on Wild Flower Drive.
After ignoring officers’ commands, the suspec later identified as Alvarez, was apprehended with the help of a police K-9 unit. He was treated at a hospital for bite-related injuries before being booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center.
The injured woman was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was listed in stable condition. Authorities said Alvarez had not yet been medically cleared to appear in court as of Friday.
Investigators believe Alvarez entered the couple’s home through an unlocked door and that the attack was entirely random.
Neighbors described the incident as deeply unsettling in what they considered a peaceful community.
“This is random. This is just a house right down the street, in a new neighborhood that we moved in — like it can happen to anybody,” said neighbor Jamel King, speaking to KABC-TV.
Another resident, Heather King, added, “I take my kids to school, it’s calm, and then I get back and there’s a helicopter circling around. There’s just cops lined up all the way coming in and flying out.”
“It was scary thinking back that we were just feet away from some guy on the run with a knife,” said neighbor Tyler Hamilton. “In this area, nothing like this ever happens over here.”
Police have urged residents to keep their homes locked and report any suspicious activity as the investigation continues.
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