VAN NUYS (CNS) – A woman was found stabbed to death in a Van Nuys alley on Tuesday, March 24, after her boyfriend called authorities and said the couple had been attacked and he had lost consciousness from a stab wound, according to police who, this afternoon, called the man a “person of interest” in the case.
The crime was reported around 7:50 a.m. near Kester Avenue and Lemay Street, Los Angeles police Officer Liliana Preciado said.
The woman, believed to be about 40 years old, was found dead in the passenger seat of a parked pickup, police said. The man, who was found next to the truck, was taken to a hospital for treatment of a stab wound that was not believed to be life-threatening, according to police.
Homicide Detective Marc Martinez with the LAPD’s Van Nuys Division said the boyfriend “was considered a person of interest,” but is not in custody and had not been labeled a “suspect.”
“We will be working for the next couple of days” to figure out what happened,” Martinez said. “At this rate we’re still doing paperwork.”
LAPD Capt. Lillian Carranza of the Van Nuys Station said the man called authorities about 7:50 a.m. and reported that he had been assaulted by three other men about 4 a.m., and had lost consciousness, but had just awakened.
“LAPD units arrived, and he pointed out the location of his girlfriend, who was slumped over the front seat of his vehicle,” Carranza said. “The rescue ambulance arrived, and immediately pronounced her dead on the scene.”
A weapon possibly used in the killing was found at the scene, Carranza said.
“We still have a long ways to go in this investigation,” Carranza said. “We’re not discounting any angle; whether it’s a robbery, whether it’s a domestic (incident) or a murder-suicide; we do not know.”
Authorities withheld the name of the woman, pending notification of her relatives, and did not immediately release the man’s name.
Anyone with more information about the case was urged to call Van Nuys detectives at (818) 374-0040.