Tragedy in California
A man, a woman, and a baby have died, while another child is hospitalized in a horrific homicide investigation that is linked across three separate crime scenes in Southern California.
It all began with the discovery of two children on Highway 405 in Culver City on Monday morning. Then, shortly thereafter, a fatal car crash in Redondo Beach. Finally, the body of a man allegedly stabbed to death was found in a luxury apartment building in Woodland Hills.
Neighbors of the man and woman say they would sometimes hear the couple arguing, but never expected something like this to happen.
One neighbor stumbled upon the bloody scene just outside her family's home in Woodland Hills at the Montecito Apartments on 6203 Variel Ave. around 7:30 a.m.
"I walked out our front door, and just to the left of our front door is their door," said the neighbor, who did not want to be identified to KTLA's Mary Beth McDade. "Their door was open, and I saw there was blood on the floor, leading into their unit and a trail of it leading out into the hallway that leads to the elevator."
The neighbor immediately told her father, who found the man covered in blood and called 911.
They say the man lived in the apartment with his female partner, both described as being in their 30s, and their two daughters, a baby and a 9-year-old girl.
The woman allegedly grabbed the two children and fled the Woodland Hills apartment in her Porsche, reportedly crashing through the garage door. The two children were later found on Highway 405, near the Howard Hughes exit around 4:30 a.m.
At an earlier press conference, California Highway Patrol officials said they found two girls at the scene: a 5- or 6-month-old baby on the freeway and a girl between 7 and 9 years old on the right shoulder.
The baby was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other girl was hospitalized with minor injuries.
"At this time, it is unknown how those minors got onto the freeway," CHP Officer Díaz said. "This is where we are requesting the public's assistance."
Witnesses reported seeing a black sedan in the area around the time of the crash.
Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department said on X, formerly Twitter, that they were working with the California Highway Patrol and believed the scene was connected to the homicide in Woodland Hills.
Authorities added that they were also collaborating with the Redondo Beach Police Department to determine if a fatal crash around 5 a.m. was also connected to the homicide in Woodland Hills.
In that incident, the driver, allegedly the same woman from the Woodland Hills and Highway 405 scenes, was driving on the Pacific Coast Highway near the intersection of Vincent Street when she crashed into a tree in Redondo Beach.
Redondo Beach Fire Department medical personnel responded and found an unconscious driver, who was later pronounced dead at the scene.
"We feel very sad for all of them, especially for the children," said the neighbor who discovered the man to KTLA.
Authorities continue to investigate the three deaths.
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